By Cindy Wooden
Pope Francis announced he will create 13 new cardinals on 28 November.
The Holy Father gave the news at the end of his Angelus address on 25 October, telling the crowd in St Peter’s Square the names of the nine cardinals under the age of 80, who will be eligible to vote in a conclave, and the names of four elderly churchmen whose red hats are a sign of esteem and honour.
In addition to Archbishop Wilton D Gregory of Washington, who will be the first African American cardinal from the United States, the pontiff chose as cardinal electors two officials of the Roman Curia and bishops from Italy, Rwanda, the Philippines, Chile, and Brunei.
In a statement released shortly after the announcement, Cardinal-designate Gregory said: “With a very grateful and humble heart, I thank Pope Francis for this appointment which will allow me to work more closely with him in caring for Christ’s Church”.
Once the consistory is held in late-November, there will be 128 cardinals under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave.
Pope Francis will have created just over 57 per cent of them. Sixteen of the cardinals created by St John Paul II will still be under 80 as will 39 of the cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI; Pope Francis will have created 73 of the electors.
American Cardinal Donald W Wuerl, retired Archbishop of Washington, will celebrate his 80th birthday on 12 November before the consistory. Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, whom the Holy Father dismissed as prefect of the congregation for saints in late September, is 72 but renounced the rights of a cardinal, including the right to enter a conclave to elect a new Pope.
Italians will continue to have an outsized portion of the electors, rising to 22 of the 128; the United States of America will stay at nine voters with Cardinal-designate Gregory taking Cardinal Wuerl’s place.
Here is the full list of the new cardinals, in the order named by Pope Francis:
- Maltese Bishop Mario Grech, 63, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops;
- Italian Bishop Marcello Semeraro, 72, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes;
- Archbishop Antoine Kambanda of Kigali, Rwanda, 61;
- Archbishop Wilton D Gregory of Washington, 72;
- Archbishop Jose F Advincula of Capiz, Philippines, 68;
- Archbishop Celestino Aos Braco of Santiago, Chile, 75;
- Bishop Cornelius Sim, apostolic vicar of Brunei, 69;
- Italian Archbishop Paolo Lojudice of Siena, 56;
- Franciscan Father Mauro Gambetti, custos of the Sacred Convent of Assisi in Assisi, 55;
- Retired Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel of San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, 80;
- Retired Italian Archbishop Silvano M Tomasi, a former nuncio, 80;
- Italian Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, 86; and,
- Italian Father Enrico Feroci, 80, former director of Rome’s Caritas.