Pushed for his honest opinion, his demeanor became more nonchalant — “No, I don’t know, I have no preference,” he said, though noting, “I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”

The shout-out to New York’s archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, is unsurprising from the Queens-born champion of America-First patriotism.

But if Dolan were actually to be elected to the Holy See, it would be the shock of a lifetime for Vatican observers.

Dolan in the Big Apple

Dolan is largely viewed by U.S. Catholics as an exceptional administrator and pastor of his archdiocese, ingrained with his flock despite being born and raised in Missouri.

He’s a proud Irishman who leans on his ethnic background in his sermons and public comments. He speaks English, Spanish, and Italian. He’s a Yankees fanatic, encouraging fellow Catholic fans to pray for them in the World Series, though he acknowledges on the topic of baseball he “can be pro-choice.”

The self-described “fat, balding Irish bishop” has a jovial demeanor and gift of gab that lend themselves to clicky headlines and oft-repeated one-liners.

“I am going to give these to a hungry person,” he once said after receiving a box of French pastries from a radio producer ahead of an interview. “Namely me at about 4 o’clock.”

He recalled in 2009 his thoughts upon being called to head the New York archdiocese: “Go away, Lord. I’m not your man. My Spanish is lousy and my English not much better.”

Though his self-reported reluctance was conveyed with levity, it is a very real burden to head perhaps the U.S.’s most prominent archdiocese — and Dolan’s episcopacy has not always been heavenly.

His office is responsible for overseeing the archdiocese’s response to over 45 years of sexual abuse claims alleged to have been carried out under predecessors in his position. It’s been a grim business, dragged out in courts for years.

Dolan was also left holding the bag after friends of a transgender atheist drag queen asked to hold a funeral service in St. Patrick’s Cathedral without disclosing the nature of the deceased. At the service, speakers blasphemed Catholicism and Christianity in a manner the rector called “sacrilegious and disrespectful.”

The cardinal expressed regret over the incident but was criticized by some Catholics for failing to vet the program and not taking the scandal seriously enough.

It’s an Italian thing

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Dolan, common wisdom says efforts to crown an American pope are a non-starter.

For centuries, the Holy See has been predominantly occupied by continental Europeans. The Italians are most commonly represented in the pantheon of past popes, befitting their geographic centrality to the Vatican. Out of 266 pontiffs, 213 have been Italian.

The French are a distant second with only 16. From there, the numbers continue to drop dramatically.

A dozen or so popes originated from regions that are either completely transformed or no longer extant, such as Roman provinces in north Africa and the Holy Land.

Pope Adrian IV is a notable outlier in the roster, the only Englishman that held the papal office.

This trend seems to be changing, however. Pope John Paul II, born in Poland as Karol Józef Wojtyła, broke a long string of Italians heading the Vatican.

He began the process of diversifying the electors within the College of Cardinals by handing out red hats to prelates in far flung nations.

Pope Benedict XVI was the first German pontiff in 950 years and the doors may have been fully flung open by the late Pope Francis, the first pope in history to come out of the New World.

Balancing powers

While the Bishop of Rome does not have a military at his disposal, he is still seen as one of the most powerful men in the world with over 1.4 billion Catholics within his spiritual communion.

He also has the sole authority to speak infallibly on matters of faith and doctrine. He can propagate dogmas, permanently end debates, and bind Catholics to his teaching. These powers are only rarely invoked out of prudence and self-preservation.

The cardinals are extremely hesitant to hand this power over to someone from a country with secular hegemony — probably fearing the possible abuses that could come with the mix of temporal and spiritual supremacy.

When a cardinal becomes pope, his unique allegiances to his country of origin are supposed to be cut in favor of pastoring a universal, worldwide church. They get new citizenship in Vatican City — but they don’t always give up their passports back home. Francis retained his status as an Argentinian. Benedict XVI’s legal citizenship is unclear, but John Paul II remained a Pole through his pontificate.

Even if a cardinal comes into the papacy with every intention of impartiality, there is always the threat of blackmail, espionage, and other clandestine influences executed by their home government. The more powerful a nation’s intelligence apparatus, the bigger the risk of meddling.

The field of papal electors is massive, packed with 13 more electors than the ostensible 120 cardinal limit.

SISTINE CHAPEL CHIMNEY INSTALLED BY VATICAN FIRE CORPS AHEAD OF CONCLAVE

They arrived this week in Rome from countries as diverse as Hungary, Japan, Sudan, and Tonga. Among them are 10 U.S. citizens. Common sense dictates that Dolan leading the nearly 2000-year-old church is a virtual impossibility.

However, cardinals are instructed to listen to the Holy Spirit when they enter the Sistine Chapel — and believers would argue that with God, anything is possible.