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As dozens of cardinals arrived for their pre-conclave meetings on Friday, it was probably not lost on them that the next pope was among them. So, who will lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics? There are some possible contenders who have emerged.

One of them is Cardinal Pietri Parolin. The 70-year-old Italian is the Vatican secretary of state -- basically second in command to the pope. He was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis and has spent years building relationship with Catholics in China and Vietnam.

The other Italian cardinal whose name has been mentioned as a possible successor is Matteo Zuppi, the 69-year-old archbishop of Bologna. He was also made a cardinal by Pope Francis, and just like the late pope, he was an inner-city priest who has focused on the poor.

For centuries, popes have almost exclusively come from Italy or other European nations. But Pope Francis famously expanded the church in places like Asia and Africa, which increases the chance that the next pope will come from one of those regions.

Which brings us to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines.

Tagle was elevated to cardinal by Pope Benedict, but it was Francis who brought him to the Vatican to head its evangelization office.

As for the leading African contender, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Bensungu is one of the continent's most outspoken Catholics. He is an archbishop in Congo and is considered conservative.

The same is true about the last name on our short list... Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary. He has been long been considered a frontrunner among cardinals looking to return to the conservative ways of popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Of the 133 cardinal electors, only 25 were appointed by John Paul or Benedict.

And Father Bryan Massingale of Fordham University explains why no American cardinals are listed among the leading contenders.

Joe Torres has the latest on who the next pope might be.

The Vatican released videos of the Room of Tears ahead of the conclave.

In the room, there are vestments in 3 different sizes, depending on the size of the new pope.

The Vatican released videos of the Room of Tears ahead of the conclave.

The Vatican also released video of the long tables where the cardinals will sit in the Sistine Chapel. Name cards are out, too.

All eyes are on Vatican City Tuesday with just over a day to go until the start of the papal conclave to elect the 267th pope.

It would be "unexpected" if the conclave goes past Friday, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, archbishop of Algiers, told ABC News at the Vatican on Tuesday.

"If on Friday night, the pope is not elected, it will be that something unexpected has happened," Vesco said.

The United States is the home country of 10 of the 133 cardinals eligible to vote for the next pope of the Catholic Church. That's more than any nation except Italy, home to 17 of the electors who will gather at the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Wednesday for the conclave that will choose a successor to Pope Francis.

Only four of the American electors actively serve as archbishops in the United States: Timothy Dolan of New York, Blase Cupich of Chicago, Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, and Robert McElroy of Washington. Two are retired archbishops: Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and Wilton Gregory of Washington.

The other four cardinals' careers have included lengthy service at the Vatican: Robert Prevost, James Michael Harvey, Raymond Burke and Kevin Farrell.