MONTREAL — Marc Cardinal Ouellet is unknown among pope-crazed Romans but the youngish Canadian cardinal speaks the right languages, has studied the right subjects and has all the media savvy the next pontiff will need.

And now Ouellet is creating another ingredient required to win any election -- buzz among those who are supposed to be in the know.

National Catholic Reporter, an independent journal based in the United States, published Ouellet's name on a list of 20 top candidates in a special edition marking the death of Pope John Paul.

Cardinals will begin a conclave April 18 to elect the successor to John Paul, a Pole who was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

Any male Roman Catholic is eligible to be pope but tradition holds he will come from the ranks of the 117 cardinals under 80 years old who are eligible to vote.

Debates now rage over whether the Italian tradition should be restored, or if the next pope should be from Latin America, the home of a large portion of the world's one billion Roman Catholics.

An African cardinal has triggered excited talk of the first black pope in recent history. Most agree U.S. cardinals are out of question because of the political implications of a man from the world's only superpower running the Vatican.

In St. Peter's Square, a few metres away from where the conclave will be held, nobody is arguing about the merits of a Canadian pope.

"A Canadian? Sure, why not?'' said Rev. Martin Ribas, a Spanish priest who can rattle off the names of a dozen potential papal successors but cannot name one Canadian cardinal.

"Anything is possible. I think a Canadian pope could be a good bridge between powerful countries and the Third World.''

With the field wide open, a dozen candidates are mentioned on every list, raising the possibility the cardinals could be split, leading to a compromise candidate. This is where a Canadian dark horse could come up the middle, some suggest.

National Catholic Reporter described Ouellet as well-regarded "across much of the international Catholic hierarchy.'' He is seen as a conservative closely aligned to the views of Pope John Paul.

"In some ways he is a traditionalist, and has advocated a return to Eucharistic adoration and Gregorian chant, suggesting that Quebec's 1960s `Quiet Revolution' marked too radical a change,'' the paper said.

While he is relatively unknown outside Quebec, Ouellet's meteoric rise in the church from scholarly priest to cardinal in four years has triggered some Quebecers to tout Ouellet's "papabili'' or pope-able status.

Ouellet speaks French, English, Spanish, German and Italian, a language seen as necessary for the pope who also is the bishop of Rome.

However, dozens of cardinals speak many languages, including an Indian cardinal who speaks at least 16.

Ouellet also worked in the Vatican under John Paul and worked in Latin America, polishing his international credentials.

At age 60, Ouellet is tied as the youngest cardinal to be mentioned on the list and one of only a handful below retirement age. If the cardinals want to avoid a long-term commitment, his age could hurt his chances.

Ouellet brushed off talk he could be pope. In an interview with The Canadian Press just before the Pope died, Ouellet said there are many other candidates more qualified than he.

"It doesn't bother me but I don't pay attention to such talk,'' he said.

"I'm just a young bishop. You have plenty of good candidates among the cardinals who have long experience.''

Ouellet's Canadian colleague, Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, conclusively dismissed the idea of any Canadian pope, although the amiable cardinal could also make a compromise candidate.

"I think there is no chance this will be a Canadian,'' he said in an interview.

However, more independent observers said anything is possible, if a favourite doesn't win an early vote.

"I wouldn't say Canadians don't have a chance,'' said Joe Ramisch, a professor and expert on Christianity at Carleton University in Ottawa.

"They have an outside chance. If it goes longer than a day, anything could happen.''

"On the first two or three ballots, if there is no clear sense of a frontrunner, it's going to be a different kind of game and much more open.''

Ramisch said a consensus may emerge this week, as the cardinals hold solemn meetings.