Los 40 USA
Sign in to commentAPP
spainSPAINchileCHILEcolombiaCOLOMBIAusaUSAmexicoMEXICOlatin usaLATIN USAamericaAMERICA

RELIGION

Pope increases the list of cardinals who will elect his successor: who are they and how many will vote?

Pope Francis has named 21 new cardinals, further swelling the ranks of the prelates who will be eligible to one day cast their vote to choose his successor.

Pope Francis has named 21 new cardinals, further swelling the ranks of the prelates who will be eligible to one day cast their vote to choose his successor.
Yara NardiREUTERS

Pope Francis has named 21 new cardinals from all around the globe, including five heads of major dioceses and archdioceses in South America, four in Italy, and the archbishops of Tehran, Iran, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The oldest appointee is Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old Italian archbishop and retired Vatican diplomat, while the youngest is 44-year-old Bishop Mykola Bychok of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Melbourne, Australia.

READ ALSO: The Supreme Court will hear a case on the legality of gender affirming care for minors

Pope increases the list of cardinals who will elect his successor: who are they and how many will vote?

The consistory, or the ceremony to formally install the new cardinals, will be held on Dec. 8. It will be the 10th consistory called by the pope since he was elected 11 years ago.

Cardinals play an important role in the Catholic Church, as they serve as the pope’s advisers and collaborators. One of their most significant functions is electing a new pope in the event of the death or resignation of the current one.

READ ALSO: Green blooms in Antarctica: this is how vegetation has grown at the South Pole in the last 40 years

NAMETITLECOUNTRY
Angelo AcerbiApostolic NuncioItaly
Baldassare ReinaVicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of RomeItaly
Carlos Gustavo Castillo MattasogliArchbishop of LimaPeru
Dominique MathieuArchbishop of Teheran-IsfahanIran
Fabio BaggioUnder Secretary for Migrants and Refugees of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human DevelopmentItaly
Fernando Natalio ChomaliMetropolitan Archbishop of Santiago de ChileChile
Frank LeoArchbishop of TorontoCanada
George KoovakadOfficial in the Secretariat of StateIndia
Ignace Bessi DogboArchbishop of AbidjanCôte d’Ivoire
Jaime SpenglerArchbishop of Porto AlegreBrazil
Jean-Paul VescoArchbishop of AlgiersAlgeria
Ladislav NemetMetropolitan Archbishop of BelgradeSerbia
Luis Cabrera HerreraArchbishop of GuayaquilEcuador
Mykola BychokBishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of MelbourneAustralia
Pablo Virgilio Siongco DavidBishop of KalookanPhilippines
Paskalis Bruno SyukurBishop of BogorIndonesia
Roberto RepoleArchbishop of TurinItaly
Rolandas MakrickasCoadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria MaggioreLithuania
Tarcisio Isao KikuchiArchbishop of TokyoJapan
Timothy RadcliffeMaster Emeritus of the Order of PreachersEngland
Vicente Bokalic IglicArchbishop of Santiago del EsteroArgentina

Pope Francis overhauls composition of College of Cardinals

Only cardinals under the age of 80 can participate in this secretive elective process known as the conclave, held in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.

Among the 21 latest appointees, only the 99-year-old Italian archbishop is above the age threshold, adding 20 eligible voters to the College of Cardinals.

Prior to this announcement, Pope Francis had already named 92 cardinals under the age of 80. This is dozens more than the 24 appointed by Pope Benedict XVI and six designated by St. John Paul II.

Rules