The police lined the departures curb, eyes peeled for the cardinal arriving any moment at Terminal 1 at Kennedy International Airport.

It was 6:32 p.m. on Tuesday, about 39 hours after the death of Pope Francis had been announced. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York was booked on AZ611, the 9:10 p.m. ITA Airways nonstop flight to Fiumicino Airport in Rome, departing Gate 4.

“How’s my buddy!” he said, smiling as he stepped out of a Toyota Sienna’s passenger seat, greeting the closest police officer. Aides juggled the bags, unloading them from the trunk.

Of the 10 American cardinals who are part of the body that will elect the next pope, Cardinal Dolan was among the first to make his way to Rome. In Washington, Cardinals Robert W. McElroy and Wilton Gregory would be leaving soon, as would Cardinal Blase Cupich in Chicago.

Passengers glanced at the hubbub surrounding the man in the black suit, Roman collar and a large metal cross as he was ushered to a special check-in counter inside. For his regular trips to Rome, Cardinal Dolan doesn’t check any bags. But this time, he expected to be there for several weeks — through the funeral, conclave and installation of the next pope.

He fiddled with a Vatican tag on the handle of a suitcase. “I didn’t realize this!” he said. “This is from the conclave in 2013! I never removed it.”