ROME, Italy (AP) —
As cardinals gather in Rome for the start next week of the conclave, where they will vote for the successor to Pope Francis, two longtime papal tailors are also pondering the transition.
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Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli. who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, works on a pontiff's robe inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A Pope skullcap lays in the display window of the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A white Pope skull cap is seen inside the Raniero Mancinelli tailor shop, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Fabric sits on shelves at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, shows a pontiff's unfinished garment as he is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, 87, and her daughter Laura Mancinelli, 60, prepare the white fabric to create suits, in three different sizes, to be taken to the Vatican in the hope that it might be worn by the new pope, at their shop in Rome, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli. who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, works on a pontiff's robe inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A crucifix hangs over a mirror reflecting ecclesiastic clothes inside the dressing room at the Gammarelli tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A tailor works at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A painting hangs inside the dressing room of the Gammarelli Ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Portraits of late Popes hang at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A tailor uses a pattern to cut fabric at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A tailor works at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Priests visit the shop of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A picture of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli and Pope Francis hangs inside Mancinelli's shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli ,who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli. who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, works on a pontiff's robe inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A picture of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli and late Pope Benedict XVI hangs inside Mancinelli's shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Crosses are displayed inside the shop of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, shows a pontiff's unfinished garment as he is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, shows a pontiff's skull cap as he is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, 87, prepares the white fabric to create suits, in three different sizes, to be taken to the Vatican in the hope that it might be worn by the new pope, at his shop in Rome, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
There are no clear frontrunners for pontiffs — unsurprisingly, given the secretive nature of a process that is supposed to be more about inspiration from the Holy Spirit than politicking.
And the tailors said they haven't received orders yet to make different-sized cassocks.
Raniero Mancinelli, who's been working on papal vestments since the early 1960s, said he's prepped three robes — sizes small, medium and large — to donate to the Vatican anyway.
He recalled that the very quality of the fabric depends on a pope's preference.
“Francis preferred things that were much simpler and practical,” Mancinelli said inside his shop, just down the street from one of the Vatican’s main entrance gates. “Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) liked slightly more choice fabrics.”
Lorenzo Gammarelli, the sixth-generation owner of an ecclesiastical tailor shop in downtown Rome, recalled the family lore that when John XXII was elected, the cassock was too small.
“So they had to intervene in the background, use pins to take it out so he could appear on the balcony,” Gammarelli said.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli. who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, works on a pontiff's robe inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A Pope skullcap lays in the display window of the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A white Pope skull cap is seen inside the Raniero Mancinelli tailor shop, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Fabric sits on shelves at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, shows a pontiff's unfinished garment as he is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, 87, and her daughter Laura Mancinelli, 60, prepare the white fabric to create suits, in three different sizes, to be taken to the Vatican in the hope that it might be worn by the new pope, at their shop in Rome, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli. who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, works on a pontiff's robe inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A crucifix hangs over a mirror reflecting ecclesiastic clothes inside the dressing room at the Gammarelli tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A tailor works at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A painting hangs inside the dressing room of the Gammarelli Ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Portraits of late Popes hang at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A tailor uses a pattern to cut fabric at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A tailor works at the Gammarelli ecclesiastic clothes tailor shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Priests visit the shop of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A picture of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli and Pope Francis hangs inside Mancinelli's shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli ,who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli. who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, works on a pontiff's robe inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
A picture of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli and late Pope Benedict XVI hangs inside Mancinelli's shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Crosses are displayed inside the shop of Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, shows a pontiff's unfinished garment as he is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, who on his own initiative is making outfits for a possible future Pope, shows a pontiff's skull cap as he is interviewed by the Associated Press inside his shop, in Rome, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Italian tailor Raniero Mancinelli, 87, prepares the white fabric to create suits, in three different sizes, to be taken to the Vatican in the hope that it might be worn by the new pope, at his shop in Rome, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
