Pietro Parolin, career diplomat leading race to become pope

A seasoned diplomat who worked with Pope Francis for 12 years, Cardinal Pietro Parolin is well-known in Rome and abroad, and a serious contender to be the next pontiff.

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The 70-year-old Italian was secretary of state - the Vatican's effective number two for almost the entire Francis pontificate, and its most visible exponent on the world stage.

With his air of calm and subtle sense of humour, Parolin is the consummate diplomat, a polyglot with experience in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

He played a key role in mediating a thaw between the United States and Cuba, as well as making a key Vatican agreement with China on naming bishops.

Parolin is the favourite to replace Francis, who died on April 21, when the conclave of cardinals starts meeting on May 7. He is well known to world leaders and diplomats. Crucially, he also has a fine grasp of the intricacies the Roman Curia, the Holy See's central government, and was part of a group of cardinal advisors to Francis.

His role, and his moderate positions on many social issues, would suggest continuity with Francis if he were to become pope. At the same time, sources say he can reconcile the Church’s different factions.