Washington Archbishop Theodore Cardinal McCarrick has cancelled his upcoming trip to Rome. The trip was unrelated to the Pope’s health. Instead, the Post reports that Cardinal McCarrick will officiate a special noon mass today for the ailing Pontiff at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in the District.

In the event of the Pope’s death, all Cardinals under the age of 80 will gather in Rome for a Conclave, a closely guarded gathering in which they will attempt to unanimously select the next head of the Catholic Church, usually from within their ranks. The last Conclave was held in 1978 and elevated Karol Cardinal Wojtyla to the seat of St. Peter as Pope John Paul II. Now the third-longest reigning Pontiff in the Church’s 2000 year old history, John Paul II has been one of the most influential figures of the last hundred years. Theories abound as to who the next Pope may be, but there is no clear favorite candidate (papabile). Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., for more than four years, is most likely not in the running; like the seat of U.N. Secretary General, it is widely accepted that Cardinals from more powerful nations are not likely to be chosen to wear the Ring of the Fisherman.