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Article updated: 2/16/2013 6:46 PM

Could the next pope come from the United States?

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Newly appointed U.S. Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke walks past Pope Benedict XVI after receiving Cardinal's ring during a mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican. Burke, the former St. Louis archbishop, is the first American to lead the Vatican supreme court.

Associated Press/Nov. 21, 2010

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New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks to the press Mnoday in his residence. Dolan said he was as startled as the rest of the world about Pope Benedict XVI's announcement that he will resign later this month due to failing health. Dolan led the North American Seminary in Rome, a kind of West Point for American priests, but has never worked in a Vatican office.

Associated Press

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The conclaves that created the last two pontificates had already upended one tradition: Polish-born Pope John Paul II ended 455 years of Italian papacies with his surprise selection in 1978. Benedict, born in Bavaria, was the first German pope since the 11th century.

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