Cardinals in Rome pitch messages to the pews, days before conclave

All eyes on gathering of Roman Catholic church leaders to appoint the next pope

- Patricia Mazzei, Jason Horowitz and Elisabetta Povoledo

ROME - Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of France cooed at babies on May 4 at a church in the Monti neighborhood of Rome. Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary asked for prayers for fellow cardinals at a church near the Colosseum. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Congo joined priests from across the globe behind the altar of a church in western Rome.

The three cardinals - considered contenders, though not favorites, to become the next pope - were among those celebrating mass across Rome on May 4, making some of their final public appearances before the conclave to elect a pope begins on May 7.

Campaign rallies they were not. But in the homilies that the cardinals delivered, and in their interactions with the faithful, they offered hints at the messages they might be giving to other cardinals, and to what kind of pope they might want, or want to be.

All cardinals are assigned what is known as a titular church in Rome; when they are in town, they can choose to celebrate mass there. Some, including Cardinal Aveline and Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, a leading papal contender, had done so last week. Cardinal Tagle drew hundreds of Filipino faithful to his titular church in the gritty Centocelle suburb on May 1.

A smattering of lesser-known cardinals also fanned out across the city on May 4, giving eager Vatican watchers a chance to snap photos of them all over town.

But the two Italian favorites, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, did not take to the pulpit, acting like front runners in a political campaign who chose to remain silent rather than, perhaps, make a mistake and lose electoral ground.