The Consensus Candidate

By Amanda Cox
New York Times
February 23, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/02/22/sunday-review/the-consensus-candidate.html?emc=eta1

Here is a composite portrait of the 116 men — age 72, on average — who will elect Pope Benedict XVI’s successor. It was assembled by layering photographs of each cardinal on top of one another. Cardinals from various regions form the first composites, followed by a composite of all 116 men.

By AMANDA COX

Because more than two-thirds of the cardinals must agree, many who were elected as pope have been compromise candidates — not everyone’s first choice, but someone a large majority could support.

Pope John Paul II relaxed that rule a bit, but Benedict restored the traditional requirement for a supermajority in 2007. A spokesman said the two-thirds majority “would guarantee the widest possible consensus.”