The son of a carpenter from northern Italy, Re is a favourite of the Italian media.

After a successful career as a Vatican diplomat in Panama and Iran, Re became deputy to the Secretary of State, a key role as the Pope's chief of staff.

A workaholic with unparalleled administrative skills and experience in the Congregation of Bishops, Re is regarded in some quarters as a perfect transitional figure.

He is said to have helped resolve complicated administrative problems for Pope John Paul II and may know the inner workings of the Vatican better than any other contender.

But this may hurt his candidacy, as his experience has been entirely within the Vatican, and not as an archbishop.