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 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.
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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.
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| NAME | TITLE | COUNTRY |
|---|---|---|
| Angelo Acerbi | Apostolic Nuncio | Italy |
| Baldassare Reina | Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome | Italy |
| Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasogli | Archbishop of Lima | Peru |
| Dominique Mathieu | Archbishop of Teheran-Isfahan | Iran |
| Fabio Baggio | Under Secretary for Migrants and Refugees of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development | Italy |
| Fernando Natalio Chomali | Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago de Chile | Chile |
| Frank Leo | Archbishop of Toronto | Canada |
| George Koovakad | Official in the Secretariat of State | India |
| Ignace Bessi Dogbo | Archbishop of Abidjan | Côte d’Ivoire |
| Jaime Spengler | Archbishop of Porto Alegre | Brazil |
| Jean-Paul Vesco | Archbishop of Algiers | Algeria |
| Ladislav Nemet | Metropolitan Archbishop of Belgrade | Serbia |
| Luis Cabrera Herrera | Archbishop of Guayaquil | Ecuador |
| Mykola Bychok | Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne | Australia |
| Pablo Virgilio Siongco David | Bishop of Kalookan | Philippines |
| Paskalis Bruno Syukur | Bishop of Bogor | Indonesia |
| Roberto Repole | Archbishop of Turin | Italy |
| Rolandas Makrickas | Coadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore | Lithuania |
| Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi | Archbishop of Tokyo | Japan |
| Timothy Radcliffe | Master Emeritus of the Order of Preachers | England |
| Vicente Bokalic Iglic | Archbishop of Santiago del Estero | Argentina |
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.