The two men share striking similarities, even physically. Both men are 6 feet 3 and broad, though Cardinal Tobin, a weight lifter who can hoist 425 pounds, could in theory dead-lift Cardinal Dolan. They are nearly the same age (Cardinal Tobin is 65; Cardinal Dolan, 67) and grew up in large Irish Catholic, Midwestern families as the eldest sibling (Cardinal Tobin of 13, Cardinal Dolan of five). They have self-deprecating senses of humor and warm, gregarious personalities.

Both felt the call to the priesthood early. Both had devoted fathers who died in 1977 of heart attacks. Both men idolize their fathers. And both still remain very close to their force-of-nature mothers, who are in their 90s.

Informed by their views and personalities, the two took different paths to the highest reaches of the church. Cardinal Dolan took the route of the institutional insider, becoming a diocesan priest, which does not require a vow of poverty, then earning a doctorate in church history. He served at the Vatican’s embassy to Washington, and later he became the rector of the main seminary for American priests in Rome. It was there that the genial conservative came to the attention of Pope John Paul II, who appointed him auxiliary bishop of his home diocese of St. Louis.

Cardinal Tobin, in contrast, wanted to travel the world as a missionary. He took a vow of poverty and joined the Redemptorists, the religious order that ran his home parish in Detroit and focuses on ministering to those on society’s margins. He became an administrator and ultimately superior general of his worldwide order, based in Rome. He learned several languages fluently.

Cardinal Dolan flourished as an insider. As he came up through the ranks, he promoted the conservative priorities of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, offering a strong, countercultural voice opposing same-sex marriage, abortion and contraception.

As president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2010 to 2013, Cardinal Dolan led the effort to persuade President Barack Obama to exempt religious institutions from having to provide health coverage that included birth control. He deplored same-sex marriage. “Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation,” he said when the Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.