ROME — Pope Francis announced Sunday that he would create 21 new cardinals in August, selecting clergy from all corners of the globe to bolster the church’s global reach, as he has done with previous cardinal choices.
“Let us pray for the new cardinals that, by confirming their adherence to Christ, they will assist me in my ministry as Bishop of Rome for the good of all the faithful of God,” Francis said Sunday after naming the names. of the soon-to-be-designated cardinals at the end of his traditional greetings to thousands of Roman Catholic faithful in St. Peter’s Square.
The list of new “princes of the church”, as cardinals are called, includes prelates from Brazil, Timor-Leste, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Paraguay, Singapore and South Korea, suggesting a deliberate shift away from Europe, the cradle of cardinals for centuries. Eight Europeans made it to the list, though only four qualify to vote for Francis’ successor, while the lone North American Mgr. Robert McElroy, a bishop from San Diego.
The College of Cardinals is responsible for the election of a pope, and its composition naturally influences the selection of future popes. This is the ninth set of cardinals that Francis has given a “red hat,” and of the 21 men, 16 are under 80, the age limit to vote on a new pope once Francis dies or retires. Five of his picks are too old to vote, including three from Italy, one from Belgium and one from Colombia.
In the 1970s, Pope Paul VI set a limit on the number of cardinals who could vote for a new pope at 120. That didn’t stop Pope John Paul II from exceeding that limit in 2001, although by the time of the last century had fallen to 115. times he died in 2005.
Francis has promoted a pastoral vision of the Roman Catholic Church, a vision that nurtures mercy and inclusion and reaches out to the poor and marginalized, including those who are also most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, another of the concerns of the world. Pope.
After the consistory — as the ceremony to install the new cardinals is known — on August 27, Francis will have named 83 of the future cardinal electors, increasing the likelihood that his successor will reflect at least some of that vision. Of the remaining 50 cardinals, 12 were appointed by John Paul II and 38 by Benedict, according to Vatican statistics.
The list of new cardinals includes Archbishop Arthur Roche of Great Britain, who last May replaced Cardinal Robert Sarah as head of the Vatican’s liturgy office; South Korea’s Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik, who was appointed head of the Vatican’s clergy last June; and Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga of Spain, who rules the Vatican City. There is also a missionary, Italian-born Bishop Giorgio Marengo, currently Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, who will be the youngest member of the College of Cardinals at age 48.
In making his selections, now and in past church councils, Francis has overthrown centuries of tradition by choosing cardinals from cities that have never had cardinals. In the past, becoming archbishop of a big city like Venice, Milan, Los Angeles or Philadelphia was an almost certain stepping stone to becoming a cardinal. Currently, none of the archbishops of these cities are cardinals.
“That’s just not the pattern with Francis anymore; he’s naming people from places where cardinals have never been, and that’s revolutionary,” said Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior analyst for Religion News Service who has written books on the Roman Catholic hierarchy, in a telephone interview. “He’s looking for the person he thinks will best contribute to the church and who supports his vision of where the church should be going.”
On Sunday, Francis appointed prelates from faraway places, including Franciscan Archbishop of Manaus, Brazil, Leonardo Ulrich Steiner; Peter Ebere Okpaleke, who in 2020 became the first bishop of Ekwulobia, a new diocese in Nigeria; and Filipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, India.
Bishop McElroy becomes the first cardinal for the Diocese of San Diego and has long been a supporter of Francis’ pastoral agenda, according to Catholic media. He has also expressed his support for allowing women to serve as deacons and for better ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.
Two years ago, Francis Wilton named Gregory, the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal, elevating the first African American to the College of Cardinals
On Sunday, Francis also announced that he would convene all cardinals of the Church on August 29 and 30 to “reflect” on the constitution he enacted this year to govern the bureaucracy that runs the Roman Catholic Church.
