The College of Cardinals is set to meet in the Vatican City on Monday to pick a date for its conclave to elect a new Roman Catholic pope.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York will be among the 115 cardinals choosing the Roman Catholic church's next leader.

The church is moving forward without a pope until a successor for Pope Emeritus Benedict can be named.

The church is now in the transitional period known as the "vacant see."

The papal administrator is running the day-to-day operations of the Vatican.

Benedict, 85, is at Castel Gandolfo, the 17th-century papal retreat in Italy where he will spend the first two months of his retirement.

Meanwhile, some churchgoers in Manhattan are wondering if a cardinal from the Philippines might become the next pope.

Congregants at the The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz said Friday they are among millions of Filipino Catholics worldwide wishing the next pontiff will be Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the archbishop of Manila.

The 55-year-old cardinal is considered Asia's greatest hope for the papacy.

"It would be an honor for the Filipino community. And it makes Filipinos more united," said one worshipper.

"To have a Filipino pope, it would be just be very inspirational to the Filipino Catholics in New York City and especially Filipino Catholics everywhere," said another.

"I, for one, I'm praying, because I heard he's a very good man, and intellectually he's very, very bright,"

Tagle is the second youngest member of the College of Cardinals. His age is seen as a possible advantage, in light of the elderly Pope Benedict's short term.