Nothing is more secretive than the conclave that meets to elect a new pope.
Now, a website – The College of Cardinals Report – was launched to provide comprehensive profiles of the College of Cardinals before the next conclave.
One of those men will become the Vicar of Christ – pope of the Catholic Church with more than 1 billion adherents globally.
Pope Francis, who turned 88 this month, has been in ill health and moves mostly by wheelchair. While his death is not believed to be imminent, Vatican officials are said to be quietly preparing for his passing and the next conclave.
The website will offer the cardinals, media, and faithful in-depth information on each of the cardinals of the church.
The report provides an in-depth look at 253 sitting cardinals, including 140 under the age of 80 who are eligible to vote in the next conclave.
Of those 140, the site identified 22 it deemed papabile – key cardinals openly talked about as possible popes.
Among those profiled are those widely considered to have the best chance of being elected pope, including the Vatican secretary of state and architect of the Vatican-China agreement, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the head of Italy's bishops and Pope Francis' peace envoy to Ukraine and Gaza, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi.
It also includes emerging young papabili such as the church's point man in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the modernist Portuguese poet and prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, and French migrant expert and allegedly Pope Francis' "favorite" cardinal, Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille.
Many have speculated that an African pope could be elected next, and a report on the leading emerging candidate from the continent, Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa is included.
"They seemed to be concerned to make it possible for cardinals voting in the next conclave to become more familiar with their brother cardinals," veteran Catholic communications representative Rick Hinshaw told Newsmax.
The site reveals the cardinals' stances on issues, such as making priestly celibacy optional, climate change, the blessing for same-sex couples, and the Vatican-China secret accords.
Pentin said the website is "neither left nor right but Catholic."
The initiative, which took nearly a year to finish, is completely independent of the Vatican, created by lay men and women in association with Sophia Institute Press, a U.S. Catholic publisher, and Cardinalis Magazine, a French Catholic publication sent to cardinals.
An international team of Catholic journalists and researchers led by Vatican journalists Edward Pentin and Executive Director Diane Montagna helped create and curate the content.
"For the first time, visitors will be able to scrutinize the cardinals through interactive filters, maps, and tables, helping them to know who the cardinals are and where they stand," Pentin told Newsmax. "It is also interactive in the sense that users can submit additions and amendments that will be checked and vetted before being included."
Pentin said that while today's College of Cardinals is the largest and most diverse in history, they hardly know each other because they have few opportunities to meet, partly because Pope Francis suspended regular consistories in 2014.
Francis has been criticized for stacking the college with church liberals mirroring his own views. Of the current college, 110 of the cardinals have been appointed by Francis. The remaining 30 were appointed by Popes John Paul II and Benedict.
Pentin noted that the time between the death of a pope and a conclave is just 15 to 20 days, which is a very short time to get to know a future pope.
"The site will become a lasting resource helping cardinals to know each other better," Pentin said.
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