Time for Old Cardinals?
Will Benedict XVI will create new cardinals this fall? An Italian newspaper says yes. Some of the likely new cardinals… and a question: Why not once again let old cardinals who are above age 80 vote in a papal conclave?
By Robert Moynihan
More Red Hats?
Will Pope Benedict XVI announce a consistory to create new cardinals on October 20, with the actual consistory held 30 days later?
Yes, according to Italian journalist Marco Tosatti, writing in La Stampa of Turin on September 4, two days ago.
This report of a November consistory has not been confirmed.
But I do not think Tosatti, a veteran Vatican reporter and old friend, would have written his story in this way, without equivocation — he writes that the Pope “will announce” the consistory, not “may announce” — unless he was sure he had reliable curial sources to base it on.
So, though it is an unconfirmed story, and could turn out to be false, I am treating it as probably true.
And even if it turns out not to be true, it remains a fact that a consistory is almost certain to be held by early 2011, so it does not change things a great deal if the consistory is delayed for a few more months.
So let’s look more closely at Tosatti’s report…
Pilgrimages to Rome and Russia
If you would like to join us for several days in Rome during this next consistory — now expected to be at the end of November, just before Thanksgiving — we expect to be able to bring you inside the Vatican to places very rarely visited by ordinary tourists, to greet some of the new cardinals. We will also have pilgrimages to Rome at Easter time next spring (April 2011) and to Russia in the summer of 2011. If you would like to you any of these pilgrimages, email us at: [email protected]
Tosatti’s Story
Here is Tosatti’s story in the original Italian (the Italian is italicized below), with my rough translation. (I include this so that those who wish to may practice their Italian! I add in numbers in front of the names of the new cardinals to help make it easier to keep track).
The original story is found at this link: https://www.lastampa.it/_web/CMSTP/tmplrubriche/giornalisti/grubrica.asp?ID_blog=196&ID_articolo=931&ID_sezione=&sezione=
Concistoro, a ottobre l’annuncio
[Consistory, in October the announcement]
Prima della fine del Sinodo sul Medio Oriente, in programma in Vaticano dal 10 al 24 ottobre, Benedetto XVI annuncerà un Concistoro per la creazione di nuovi cardinali. L’annuncio potrebbe avvenire durante l’udienza generale di mercoledì 20 ottobre; e il Concistoro, come è prassi, avrebbe luogo un mese più tardi. Dal primo gennaio 2011 il numero dei cardinali elettori scenderà a 101 (su 120 posti disponibili); quindi papa Ratzinger avrà a disposizione almeno diciannove “berrette”.
[Before the end of the Synod on the Middle East, set to be held in the Vatican from 10 to 24 October, Benedict XVI will announce a Consistory for the creation of new cardinals. The announcement could take place during the General Audience of Wednesday, October 20; and the Consistory, as is the practice, would take place a month later. From January 1, 2011, the number of cardinal electors will fall to 101 (of 120 places available); so Pope Ratzinger will have at his disposal at least 19 “red hats”]
BY MARCO TOSATTI
Prima della fine del Sinodo sul Medio Oriente, in programma in Vaticano dal 10 al 24 ottobre, Benedetto XVI annuncerà un Concistoro per la creazione di nuovi cardinali. L’annuncio potrebbe avvenire durante l’udienza generale di mercoledì 20 ottobre; e il Concistoro, come è prassi, avrebbe luogo un mese più tardi. Dal primo gennaio 2011 il numero dei cardinali elettori scenderà a 101 (su 120 posti disponibili); quindi papa Ratzinger avrà a disposizione almeno diciannove “berrette”.
[These first lines of the article are simply a repetition of the subtitle, already translated above. This is common practice in some Italian papers.]
Ma è probabile che l’anno successivo vi sia l’annuncio di un ulteriore Concistoro, anche perché i tre anni che sono trascorsi dal precedente hanno fatto sì che le aspettative siano superiori ai posti disponibili.
[But it is probable that in the following year there will be the announcement of another Consistory, in part because the three years that have passed since the last (Consistory) have made the expectations (for receiving red hats) greater than the places available.
(Note: Tosatti is saying that, after the November 2010 Consistory, there will be another one rather quickly, within a year, or two years, not the usual three years we have become used to. There is a slight ambiguity here in the Italian; the “following year” should refer to the year 2012, since the year just mentioned is 2011; that would be two years from now; however, Tosatti has just mentioned October and November 2010, as the time of this upcoming Consistory when the Pope “will have these posts available” to fill, and so the “following year” could be already in… 2011. In any case, Tosatti is saying that this upcoming consistory will be followed quickly by a second one to accommodate of all those who are waiting patiently to receive red hats.]
Riceveranno la berretta alcuni capi dicastero:
[Several heads of (Roman) dicasteries will receive the red hat (note that “riceveranno” is future tense, not conditional; Tosatti is saying these men “will” receive the red hat, not they “may” receive it; he is giving it out as a certainty).]
Angelo Amato, Prefetto dei Santi; Raymond Leo Burke Prefetto della Segnatura Apostolica; Monsignor Kurt Koch, responsabile dei rapporti con Ortodossi, Protestanti, ed Ebrei; Gianfranco Ravasi, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio per la Cultura; Francesco Monterisi, arciprete della Basilica di San Paolo; Paolo Sardi, patrono del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta.
[1. Angelo Amato, Prefect of the (Congregation for the Causes of) Saints; 2. Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signature; 3. Monsignor Kurt Koch, responsible for the relations with the Orthodox, Protestants and Jews; 4. Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture; 5. Francesco Monterisi, Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul’s (Outside the Walls); 6. Paolo Sardi, head of the Sovereign Military Order of (the Knights of) Malta.]
E inoltre i titolari delle diocesi di Palermo, Paolo Romeo, e di Firenze, Giuseppe Betori.
[And in addition the heads of the dioceses of Palermo, 7. Paolo Romeo, and of Florence, 8. Giuseppe Betori.]
Negli Stati Uniti riceverà la berretta l’arcivescovo di Washington, Donald W. Wuerl. O’Brien, arcivescovo di Baltimore, e Dolan, arcivescovo di New York, dovranno attendere perché le loro diocesi hanno cardinali emeriti sotto gli ottanta anni, e quindi in grado di partecipare a un eventuale Conclave. Questa regola non si applica a Firenze perché il cardinale emerito è titolare di un dicastero pontificio.
[In the United States, the archbishop of Washington, 9. Donald W. Wuerl, will receive the red hat. (Edwin) O’Brien, the archbishop of Baltimore, and (Timothy) Dolan, the archbishop of New York, will have to wait because their dioceses have emeritus cardinals under 80 years of age (Edward Egan, 78, in New York and William Keeler, 79 — he will be 80 on March 4, 2011 — in Baltimore), and therefore able to participate in an eventual Conclave. This rule does not apply to Florence because the cardinal emeritus is the head of a pontifical dicastery. (Note: It is Vatican practice not to have two men as cardinals from the same city under age 80, so that, in the vent of a conclave, that city will not be “over-represented.”)]
In America del Nord riceverà la berretta quasi certamente Thomas Christopher Collins di Toronto. In Europa al momento sono in lista Reinhard Marx (Monaco), Kazimierz Nycz (Varsavia), Braulio Rodríguez Plaza (Toledo), Vincent Nichols (Westminster), Willem Jacobus Eijk (Utrecht) e André-Joseph Léonard (Malines-Bruxelles). In Asia verranno nominati tre cardinali: Malcolm Ranjith (Colombo); Charles Maung Bo (Yangon) e Peter Takeo Okada (Tokyo). Mentre in Sud America sono certi: Nicolás Cotugno Fanizzi (Montevideo), e Orani João Tempesta (Rio de Janeiro). Un terzo cardinale dovrebbe venire dal Brasile. Tre i candidati africani: Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (Kinshasa), Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot (Yaoundé) and Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (Kampala). Non è ancora caduta l’ipotesi di attribuire rango cardinalizio al Patriarcato di Gerusalemme dei Latini, il cui titolare è attualmente l’ex nunzio Fouad Twal.
[In North America, 10. Thomas Christopher Collins of Toronto will almost certainly receive the red hat. (Note: This is the one place in the article where Tosatti uses a qualifier “almost certainly” — it is hard to know how to interpret this.) In Europe at the moment are on the list 11. Reinhard Marx (Munich), 12. Kazimierz Nycz (Warsaw), 13. Braulio Rodríguez Plaza (Toledo), 14. Vincent Nichols (Westminster), 15. Willem Jacobus Eijk (Utrecht) and 16. André-Joseph Léonard (Malines-Bruxelles). In Asia three cardinals will be named: 17. Malcolm Ranjith (Colombo); 18. Charles Maung Bo (Yangon) and 19. Peter Takeo Okada (Tokyo). While in South America are certain: 20. Nicolás Cotugno Fanizzi (Montevideo), and 21. Orani João Tempesta (Rio de Janeiro). A third cardinal (from South America, #22) should (also) come from Brazil. There are three candidates from Africa: 23. Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (Kinshasa), 24. Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot (Yaoundé) and 25. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (Kampala). The idea of attributing the cardinalatial rank to the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, whose is presently the former nuncio 26. Fouad Twal, has not yet been set aside.]
And that is the end of Tosatti’s article.
Reflections on a Possible Consistory
Of course, the fact that Pope Benedict XVI is now ready to push forward to celebrate a consistory is an important piece of news.
Who he chooses as his cardinals in this next consistory is important, as they will almost certainly be present in the next conclave to elect his successor. Their views, their theological tendencies, will therefore have have a certain “weight” in the Church, in the choice of the Church’s direction in coming decades.
Any discussion about cardinals in the Catholic Church must keep two points clearly in mind:
(1) Who chooses: The cardinals are chosen by the Pope. The choice is at his sole discretion. Therefore, every “rule” regarding the naming of cardinals is a “breakable” rule. This means there can and will be always surprises, mysteries, and disappointments, both in regard to the precise number chosen, and in regard to the identity of those chosen.
(2) For what main purpose: The cardinals have one supreme role to play: to elect the Successor of Peter. This means that, in choosing cardinals, a Pope takes into consideration, above all, the fact that those he names will choose his own successor.
Keeping these two points in mind, every single name on Tosatti’s list could, theoretically, be changed by the Pope himself during the next few weeks. Several could be dropped. And several new names could be added.
And those new names could be added because Benedict, with an eye to the future, and to a conclave at some point in the next few years, wishes to leave his own special mark on the College of Cardinals.
I say this because this list represents, at a number of points — not entirely — a curial “wish list” with a strongly Italian flavor. Tosatti has acquiesced in the publication and circulation of this list, which he received from his curial sources. But does the list really reflect the Pope’s own thinking, and his final decisions?
I would be very cautious about asserting that.
The “Ceiling” of 120 Voting Cardinals
As of September 6, 2010 — today — there are 179 cardinals in all.
Of these, 74 have passed the age of 80.
This leaves 105, as of today, under the age of 80, to vote in a conclave.
Forty years ago, Paul VI decided to set a limit of 120 to the number of voting cardinals, following centuries when the limit was 70, or less.
This limit of 120 was reaffirmed by John Paul II in 1996, and it is the rule the Vatican is operating under today.
So, with 105 cardinals under age 80, there are only 15 places open for new cardinals, before the total reaches 120 again.
Three or four additional spots will open up between now and the end of the year, as several cardinals turn 80, so Benedict could theoretically create 19 or 20 new cardinals in November, and still adhere to the limit of 120.
But not 26!
And there are 26 names on Tosatti’s list — six more than the “rules” allow.
So, either Tosattii’s list is wrong by at least half a dozen names, as six of these names will have to be dropped, or… the Pope will have to make a dramatic decision: set aside the “ceiling” of 120 voting cardinals.
And this is a possibility that should not be excluded, although at his first consistory, Benedict did say that he intended to abide by the 120 limit.
The first question, then, is: Will Benedict abide by the limit? If the answer is yes, some of Tosatti’s names must go. If the answer is no, then the question becomes: What might the new limit be?
The Balance of the College
Of the 105 voting cardinals as of today, 53 are from Europe — slightly more than one half.
But the clear tendency of recent decades is for the preponderance of the European element in the College of Cardinals to decrease — and most particularly, for the preponderance of the Italian element to decrease.
In Tosatti’s list, there are six Italians (about 25% of the total he says will be named) and six Europeans, another approximately 25%, for a total of about 50%.
Thus, according to this list, about half of the new cardinals will come from Europe.
If this occurs, it will not be in keeping with the general trend of recent decades, which has been to internationalize the College, make it truly global, and diminish the number of European and Italian cardinals.
This is an important point, both for the election of the Pope, and for the general direction of the government of the universal Church.
Today, Africa has 13 cardinals (just 7% of the total), with just 9 of them (8% of the total) of voting age.
North and South America have 48 cardinals (27% of the total), with 32 of them (30%) under age 80.
Asia has 18 cardinals (10%), with 10 (about 10%) under age 80.
Europe has 96 cardinals (54%), with 53 (50%) under age 80.
Oceania has 4 cardinals (2%), with 1 (1%) under age 80.
So, as one can clearly see, the cardinals from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas together form one half of the total, and the cardinals from Europe the other half.
Clearly, in order to increase the number of Asian, African and American cardinals, something has to give, and that something is the number of European, and particularly Italian, cardinals.
If the Pope decides to choose more cardinals from these regions, and fewer from Italy and Europe, he will certainly provoke discontent in those places in Europe, and in Italy especially, expecting to have a cardinal as a “right.”
The Pope’s alternative choice, if he wishes to increase the number of cardinals from outside Europe, would be to raise the “ceiling” for the College to a number above 120.
Choosing the Pope
The number of Italian cardinals was for centuries an absolute majority in the College of Cardinals, and this helps explain why all Popes for many centuries were from Italy.
During the past century, the percentage of Italian cardinals has dropped from 56.25% of the College in 1903, when Pius X was elected Pope, to 54.8% in 1939, when Pius XII was elected Pope, to 35.8% in 1958, when John XXIII was elected, to 22.5% when John Paul II was elected in 1978.
The percentage of Italian cardinals in the College today is about 17%.
For a century, the Italian control of the Church has been steadily diminishing.
Will the percentage drop further?
There is, in fact, a serious ecclesial question here.
What is the importance of the physical connection between the Church and Rome? Between the Church and Italy? Between the Church and Europe?
Will it hurt the Church if the preponderance of cardinals and curial officials drops below a certain threshold? Will it harm the Church if the curial culture of “Romanita” (“Roman-ness”) — which has continued to connect the Curia with the Church’s Roman and Latin past despite the internationalization of the Curia — diminishes?
Or have Rome and Italy and Europe, as they have grown increasingly secular, become incapable of any longer transmitting that “sense of the faith” which seemed in prior centuries always to remain despite all the vicissitudes of barbarian invasions, and Renaissance princedoms, down to our own time?
Can the “center” of Catholicism “hold” if the (seemingly) centrifugal forces of “globalization” continue to “de-Romanize” and “de-Italianize” the Curia?
Or is it precisely the “de-Italianizing” of the Curia which is needed to face the challenges of the “globalized” world?
Which is the right path?
These questions will be among those Benedict and his aides must mull over when they choose this next group of cardinals.
The Decline of the Most Exclusive College in the World
Since the 1300s, there have been fewer than 3,000 men chosen to be cardinals. That’s it. Less than 3,000 men in nearly a millennium.
This makes the College of Cardinals, arguably, the most exclusive, enduring leadership “club” in the world.
And what was the greatest privilege which membership in this group afforded?
That privilege may be summed up in one word: vote.
Down through the centuries, every cardinal, from the time of his election until the day of his death, had the right to vote in conclave for the Successor of Peter. It did not matter if he was 110 years old, he still enjoyed the privilege as a cardinal of being able to enter and vote in a papal conclave.
Forty years ago, Paul VI revolutionized papal elections by ordering that only cardinals below the age of 80 might participate in future conclaves.
Since 1971, cardinals above the age of 80 have not had a vote in papal elections, under the terms of Pope Paul VI’s motu proprio Ingravescentem Aetatem.
Paul VI’s Apostolic Constitution Romano Pontifici Eligendo, promulgated on October 1, 1975, codifed his ruling that cardinals above age 80 could not enter into conclave.
Pope John Paul II continued this limitation when he revoked Romano Pontifici Eligendo and introduced a revised set of rules for papal elections in Universi Dominici Gregis in 1996.
But are these conclave rules now set in stone forever?
Evidently not.
In the 2001 consistory, and again in 2003, John Paul II ignored the limit he himself had set, taking the number of cardinals under 80 (and therefore eligible to vote) to 135. (The number then declined to under 120 by the time he died two years in 2005.)
Paul VI’s decision to preclude cardinals over the age of 80 from voting has been seen by many as a “political gambit” aimed at weeding out some of the more conservative cardinals and not allowing them a say in electing Paul’s successor.
However, in recent years, many cardinals — even more progressive ones! — have told me in private conversations that they believe Paul’s decision to exclude cardinals above age 80 from a conclave is an unfortunate one, one they would like to see reversed.
And perhaps they are right.
Is there an age limit on voting in secular matters?
Do citizens lose the right to vote when they turn 80?
If such a voting deprivation is not imposed on citizens in a secular context, then why on cardinals in a sacred one?
Today, with the cardinals during a conclave being housed in the Domus Sanctae Marthae “guest house” — a modern and quite comfortable hotel just behind St. Peter’s Basilica — it is difficult to claim that older cardinals cannot endure the rigors of a conclave, particularly when the current Pope is 83 and John Paul II reigned till he was nearly 85.
Benedict XVI could raise the age limit.
Paul VI’s choice of the number 120 as a limit for the number of cardinal electors was also arbitrary.
Benedict XVI could change that too — and he would have to if he were to decide to set aside the age limit.
John Paul II reaffirmed this “over-80-no-more-vote” rule in Universi Dominici Gregis, published on February 22, 1996, the document which now regulates how Popes are elected.
Benedict XVI, in his first consistory in 2006, stated that he did not intend to exceed Paul VI’s 120 limit for electors, so it may be far from his thinking to consider lifting the age limit.
Still, the most startling, and exciting, decision Pope Benedict XVI could take regarding the College of Cardinals would be to annul these two earlier decisions.
Benedict could return the vote to every cardinal until death, without any restriction of age — let all cardinals vote, no matter how old they are.
I do not know whether this decision would be regarded as a reactionary act — or a revolutionary one.
Is it progressive, or conservative?
You decide.
The Pope could change the rule if he wished.
And if he did, many cardinals above age 80 who have felt themselves impoverished by the removal of the key privilege of their status, might suddenly feel energized and emboldened, knowing that their experience and wisdom were again appreciated by the Church, and would at some future time be useful to the Church at a critical, decision-making moment…
A Non-Cardinal as Pope?
Although the rules of the Conclave explicitly say the Pope need not be chosen from among the ranks of the cardinals (in theory any unmarried Roman Catholic male may be elected Pope), this has been the consistent practice since the election of Pope Urban VI in 1378.
But it would truly be a revolution in the Church if the cardinals agreed, at some future conclave, to look outside their own ranks for a successor to Peter.
We might call this the “Celestine Option,” after the decision of the cardinals in 1294 to choose a monk, not a cardinal, to be Pope: Pope Celestine V.
Musings on the Next Consistory
Among the many possible choices for new cardinals, some overlooked possibilities, from the perspective of the United States, are the following:
1) There may be dioceses in the south and west of the country which have not traditionally been cardinalatial sees, but which have grown to be important enough to warrant having a cardinal.
2) The nuncio to the US, who was also nuncio in Israel, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, has spent his life in the service of the Holy See in very important and difficult assignments, and has carried out these tasks with courage and grace.
The College: By Seniority
In 1587, Sixtus V established the size of the College to be 70. This limit stood for 371 years. Then, in 1958, within months of being elected, John XXIII, increased the limit to 75. Then in 1960 he increased it to 88, and in 1962 to 90.
There are no rules or even conventions as to when a Pope should convene a consistory to create cardinals. Pius XII only held two consistories in his 19-year papacy. On the other hand, Pius XI, whose papacy was two years shorter, convened 17 consistories to create cardinals. John Paul II, during his 26 year reign, created 231 cardinals in 9 consistories (the 231 being the most cardinals created by a single Pope).
Benedict XVI became Pope on April 19, 2005. He has since created 38 cardinals in 2 consistories; March 24, 2006 and November 24, 2007.
The following is the list of all living Cardinals as of September 6, 2010. Cardinals are shown in order of precedence, based on seniority by date of appointment.
Eugênio de Araújo Sales is the most senior member of the College by length of service (the Protopriest); he is the last surviving from the 1969 consistory. Angelo Sodano, however, has the highest precedence as a Cardinal Bishop as dean of the College of Cardinals.
Cardinals who have reached the age of 80 are indicated with an asterisk (*). Ignace Moussa I Daoud will be the next cardinal to lose his right to participate in the conclave on September 18, 2010. The oldest living cardinal is currently Ersilio Tonini, 96 (and still quite lucid).
There are three ranks of Cardinals: Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priests, and Cardinal Deacons. Almost all Cardinals are also bishops.
Cardinals of the Order of Bishops
Titular Bishops of seven suburbicarian sees
1. Angelo Sodano* (Italy) – born 23 November 1927 – Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Secretary of State Emeritus, Cardinal 28 June 1991, Cardinal Bishop of Albano since January 1994, Dean of the College (and therefore also Cardinal Bishop of Ostia) since April 2005
2. Roger Etchegaray* (France) – born 25 September 1922 – Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal 30 June 1979, Cardinal Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina since June 1998
3. Giovanni Battista Re (Italy) – born 30 January 1934 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal 21 February 2001, Cardinal Bishop of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto since October 2002
4. Francis Arinze (Nigeria) – born 1 November 1932 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal 25 May 1985, Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni since April 2005
5. Tarcisio Bertone (Italy) – born 2 December 1934 – Cardinal Secretary of State and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal 21 October 2003, Cardinal Bishop of Frascati since May 2008
6. José Saraiva Martins (Portugal) – born 6 January 1932 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal 21 February 2001, Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina since February 2009
Patriarchs of Oriental Rites
7. Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir* (Lebanon) – born 15 May 1920 – Maronite Patriarch of Antioch (lives in Beirut), Cardinal 28 February 1994
8. Ignace Moussa I Daoud (Syria) – born 18 September 1930 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and Syrian Rite Patriarch Emeritus of Antioch, Cardinal 21 February 2001
9. Emmanuel III Delly* (Iraq) – born 6 October 1927 – Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans, Cardinal 24 November 2007
Cardinals of the Order of Priests
Appointed by Pope Paul VI
Consistory of 28 April 1969
10. Eugênio de Araújo Sales* (Brazil) – born 8 November 1920 – Archbishop Emeritus of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal Protopriest since February 2009
Consistory of 5 March 1973
11. Luis Aponte Martínez* (Puerto Rico) – born 4 August 1922 – Archbishop Emeritus of San Juan de Puerto Rico
12. Paulo Evaristo Arns* (Brazil) – born 14 September 1921 – Archbishop Emeritus of São Paulo
Consistory of 24 May 1976
13. William Wakefield Baum* (United States) – born 21 November 1926 – Major Penitentiary Emeritus
Appointed by Pope John Paul II
Consistory of 30 June 1979
14. Marco Cé* (Italy) – born 8 July 1925 – Patriarch Emeritus of Venice
15. Franciszek Macharski* (Poland) – born 20 May 1927 – Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow
Consistory of 2 February 1983
16. Michael Michai Kitbunchu* (Thailand) – born 26 January 1929 – Archbishop Emeritus of Bangkok
17. Alexandre do Nascimento* (Angola) – born 1 March 1925 – Archbishop Emeritus of Luanda
18. Godfried Danneels (Belgium) – born 5 June 1933 – Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussels
19. Thomas Stafford Williams* (New Zealand) – born 20 March 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Wellington
20. Carlo Maria Martini* (Italy) – born 15 February 1927 – Archbishop Emeritus of Milan
21. Józef Glemp* (Poland) – born 18 December 1929 – Archbishop Emeritus of Warsaw
22. Joachim Meisner (Germany) – born 25 December 1933 – Archbishop of Cologne
Consistory of 25 May 1985
23. Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy* (India) – born 5 February 1924 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
24. Miguel Obando y Bravo* (Nicaragua) – born 2 February 1926 – Archbishop Emeritus of Managua
25. Ricardo Vidal (Philippines) – born 6 February 1931 – Archbishop of Cebu
26. Henryk Gulbinowicz* (Poland) – long reported as born 17 October 1928 but announced 2 February 2005 that he had concealed his real age in the wartime conditions of 1944 and was really born in 1923 – Archbishop Emeritus of Wrocław
27. Jozef Tomko* (Slovakia) – born 11 March 1924 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses
28. Andrzej Maria Deskur* (Poland) – born 29 February 1924 – President of the Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate Conception and President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
29. Paul Poupard* (France) – born 30 August 1930 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture
30. Friedrich Wetter* (Germany) – born 20 February 1928 – Archbishop Emeritus of Munich and Freising
31. Silvano Piovanelli* (Italy) – born 21 February 1924 – Archbishop Emeritus of Florence
32. Adrianus Johannes Simonis (Netherlands) – born 26 November 1931 – Archbishop Emeritus of Utrecht
33. Bernard Francis Law (USA) – born 4 November 1931 – Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
34. Giacomo Biffi* (Italy) – born 13 June 1928 – Archbishop Emeritus of Bologna
Consistory of 28 June 1988
35. Eduardo Martínez Somalo* (Spain) – born 31 March 1927 – Camerlengo Emeritus of the Holy Roman Church
36. Achille Silvestrini* (Italy) – born 25 October 1923 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
37. José Freire Falcão* (Brazil) – born 23 October 1925 – Archbishop Emeritus of Brasilia
38. Michele Giordano (Italy) – born 26 September 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Naples
39. Alexandre José Maria dos Santos* (Mozambique) – born 18 March 1924 – Archbishop Emeritus of Maputo
40. Giovanni Canestri* (Italy) – born 30 September 1918 – Archbishop Emeritus of Genoa
41. Simon Pimenta* (India) – born 1 March 1920 – Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay
42. Edward Bede Clancy* (Australia) – born 13 December 1923 – Archbishop Emeritus of Sydney
43. Edmund Casimir Szoka* (USA) – born 14 September 1927 – President Emeritus of the Governorate of Vatican City
44. László Paskai* (Hungary) – born 8 May 1927 – Archbishop Emeritus of Esztergom-Budapest
45. Christian Wiyghan Tumi (Cameroon) – born 15 October 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Douala
Consistory of 28 June 1991
46. Edward Idris Cassidy* (Australia) – born 5 July 1924 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
47. Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez (Dominican Republic) – born 31 October 1936 – Archbishop of Santo Domingo
48. José Tomás Sánchez* (Philippines) – born 17 March 1920 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy
49. Virgilio Noè* (Italy) – born 30 March 1922 – Vicar General Emeritus for the Vatican City State and Archpriest Emeritus of St. Peter’s Basilica
50. Fiorenzo Angelini* (Italy) – born 1 August 1916 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers
51. Roger Mahony (United States) – born 27 February 1936 – Archbishop of Los Angeles
52. Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua* (United States) – born 17 June 1923 – Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia
53. Giovanni Saldarini* (Italy) – born 11 December 1924 – Archbishop Emeritus of Turin
54. Camillo Ruini (Italy) – born 19 February 1931 – Vicar General Emeritus for the Diocese of Rome
55. Ján Chryzostom Korec* (Slovakia) – born 22 January 1924 – Bishop Emeritus of Nitra
56. Henri Schwery (Switzerland) – born 14 June 1932 – Bishop Emeritus of Sion
57. Georg Maximilian Sterzinsky (Germany) – born 9 February 1936 – Archbishop of Berlin
Consistory of 26 November 1994
58. Miloslav Vlk (Czech Republic) – born 17 May 1932 – Archbishop Emeritus of Prague
59. Carlo Furno* (Italy) – born 2 December 1921 – Grand Master Emeritus of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and Archpriest Emeritus of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
60. Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadja (Indonesia) – born 20 December 1934 – Archbishop Emeritus of Jakarta
61. Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino (Cuba) – born 18 October 1936 – Archbishop of San Cristóbal de la Habana
62. Gilberto Agustoni* (Switzerland) – born 26 July 1922 – Prefect Emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
63. Emmanuel Wamala* (Uganda) – born 15 December 1926 – Archbishop Emeritus of Kampala
64. William Henry Keeler (United States) – born 4 March 1931 – Archbishop Emeritus of Baltimore
65. Jean-Claude Turcotte (Canada) – born 26 June 1936 – Archbishop of Montreal
66. Ricardo María Carles Gordó* (Spain) – born 24 September 1926 – Archbishop Emeritus of Barcelona
67. Adam Joseph Maida* (United States) – born 18 March 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Detroit
68. Vinko Puljić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – born 8 September 1945 – Archbishop of Vhrbosna (Sarajevo)
69. Juan Sandoval Íñiguez (Mexico) – born 28 March 1933 – Archbishop of Guadalajara, Jalisco
70. Kazimierz Swiatek* (Belarus) – born 21 October 1914 – Archbishop Emeritus of Minsk
71. Ersilio Tonini* (Italy) – born 20 July 1914 – Archbishop Emeritus of Ravenna
Consistory of 21 February 1998
72. Jorge Medina Estévez* (Chile) – born 23 December 1926 – Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
73. Darío Castrillón Hoyos* (Colombia) – born 4 July 1929 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy
74. Lorenzo Antonetti* (Italy) – born 31 July 1922 – Pontifical Delegate for the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and President Emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
75. James Francis Stafford (United States) – born 26 July 1932 – Major Penitentiary Emeritus
76. Salvatore De Giorgi* (Italy) – born 6 September 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Palermo
77. Serafim Fernandes de Araújo* (Brazil) – born 13 August 1924 – Archbishop Emeritus of Belo Horizonte
78. Antonio María Rouco Varela (Spain) – born 24 August 1936 – Archbishop of Madrid
79. Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic* (Canada) – born 27 January 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Toronto
80. Dionigi Tettamanzi (Italy) – born 14 March 1934 – Archbishop of Milan
81. Polycarp Pengo (Tanzania) – born 5 August 1944 – Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam
82. Christoph Schönborn (Austria) – born 22 January 1945 – Archbishop of Vienna
83. Norberto Rivera Carrera (Mexico) – born 6 June 1942 – Archbishop of Mexico
84. Francis Eugene George (United States) – born 16 January 1937 – Archbishop of Chicago
85. Paul Shan Kuo-hsi* (Taiwan) – born 3 December 1923 – Bishop Emeritus of Kaohsiung
86. Giovanni Cheli* (Italy) – born 4 October 1918 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants
87. Marian Jaworski* (Ukraine) – born 21 August 1926 – Archbishop Emeritus of Lviv
88. Jānis Pujāts (Latvia) – born 14 November 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Riga
Consistory of 21 February 2001
89. Crescenzio Sepe (Italy) – born 2 June 1943 – Archbishop of Naples
90. Ivan Dias (India) – born 14 April 1936 – Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
91. Geraldo Majella Agnelo (Brazil) – born 19 October 1933 – Archbishop of Salvador
92. Pedro Rubiano Sáenz (Colombia) – born 13 September 1932 – Archbishop Emeritus of Bogotá
93. Theodore Edgar McCarrick* (USA) – born 7 July 1930 – Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C.
94. Desmond Connell* (Ireland) – born 24 March 1926 – Archbishop Emeritus of Dublin
95. Audrys Juozas Backis (Lithuania) – born 1 February 1937 – Archbishop of Vilnius
96. Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (Chile) – born 5 September 1933 – Archbishop of Santiago de Chile
97. Julio Terrazas Sandoval (Bolivia) – born 7 March 1936 – Archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra
98. Wilfrid Fox Napier (South Africa) – born 8 March 1941 – Archbishop of Durban
99. Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga (Honduras) – born 29 December 1942 – Archbishop of Tegucigalpa
100. Bernard Agré* (Côte d’Ivoire) – born 2 March 1926 – Archbishop Emeritus of Abidjan
101. Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne (Peru) – born 28 December 1943 – Archbishop of Lima
102. Francisco Álvarez Martínez* (Spain) – born 14 July 1925 – Archbishop Emeritus of Toledo
103. Cláudio Hummes (Brazil) – born 8 August 1934 – Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
104. Varkey Vithayathil* (India) – born 29 May 1927 – Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars
105. Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Argentina) – born 17 December 1936 – Archbishop of Buenos Aires
106. José da Cruz Policarpo (Portugal) – born 26 February 1936 – Patriarch of Lisbon
107. Severino Poletto (Italy) – born 18 March 1933 – Archbishop of Turin
108. Cormac Murphy-O’Connor (England & Wales) – born 24 August 1932 – Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster
109. Edward Michael Egan (USA) – born 2 April 1932 – Archbishop Emeritus of New York
110. Lubomyr Husar (Ukraine) – born 26 February 1933 – Major Archbishop of Kiev of the Ukrainians
111. Karl Lehmann (Germany) – born 16 May 1936 – Bishop of Mainz
112. Jean Marcel Honoré* (France) – born 13 August 1920 – Archbishop Emeritus of Tours
Consistory of 21 October 2003
113. Angelo Scola (Italy) – born 7 November 1941 – Patriarch of Venice
114. Anthony Olubumni Okogie (Nigeria) – born 16 June 1936 – Archbishop of Lagos
115. Bernard Panafieu (France) – born 26 January 1931 – Archbishop Emeritus of Marseille
116. Gabriel Zubeir Wako (Sudan) – born 27 February 1939 – Archbishop of Khartoum
117. Carlos Amigo Vallejo (Spain) – born 23 August 1934 – Archbishop Emeritus of Seville
118. Justin Francis Rigali (United States) – born 19 April 1935 – Archbishop of Philadelphia
119. Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien (Scotland) – born 17 March 1938 – Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh
120. Eusebio Oscar Scheid (Brazil) – born 8 December 1932 – Archbishop Emeritus of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro
121. Ennio Antonelli (Italy) – born 18 November 1936 – President of the Pontifical Council for the Family
122. Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson (Ghana) – born 11 October 1948 – President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
123. Telesphore Placidus Toppo (India) – born 13 October 1939 – Archbishop of Ranchi
124. George Pell (Australia) – born 8 April 1941 – Archbishop of Sydney
125. Josip Bozanić (Croatia) – born 20 March 1949 – Archbishop of Zagreb
126. Jean-Baptiste Phạm Minh Mẫn (Vietnam)[6] – born 31 December 1934 – Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City
127. Rodolfo Quezada Toruño (Guatemala) – born 8 March 1932 – Archbishop of Guatemala
128. Philippe Barbarin (France) – born 17 October 1950 – Archbishop of Lyon
129. Péter Erdő (Hungary) – born 25 June 1952 – Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest
130. Marc Ouellet (Canada) – born 8 June 1944 – Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI
Consistory of 24 March 2006
131. Agostino Vallini (Italy) – born 17 April 1940 – Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome
132. Jorge Urosa (Venezuela) – born 28 August 1942 – Archbishop of Caracas
133. Gaudencio Borbon Rosales (Philippines) – born 10 August 1932 – Archbishop of Manila
134. Jean-Pierre Ricard (France) – born 25 September 1944 – Archbishop of Bordeaux
135. Antonio Cañizares Llovera (Spain) – born 15 October 1945 – Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
136. Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk (South Korea) – born 7 December 1931 – Archbishop of Seoul
137. Seán Patrick O’Malley (United States) – born 29 June 1944 – Archbishop of Boston
138. Stanisław Dziwisz (Poland) – born 27 April 1939 – Archbishop of Kraków
139. Carlo Caffarra (Italy) – born 1 June 1938 – Archbishop of Bologna
140. Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun (Hong Kong[7]) – born 13 January 1932 – Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong
Consistory of 24 November 2007
141. Agustín García-Gasco y Vicente (Spain) – born 12 February 1931 – Archbishop Emeritus of Valencia
142. Seán Brady (Ireland) – born 16 August 1939 – Archbishop of Armagh
143. Lluís Martínez Sistach (Spain) – born 29 April 1937 – Archbishop of Barcelona
144. André Armand Vingt-Trois (France) – born 7 November 1942 – Archbishop of Paris
145. Angelo Bagnasco (Italy) – born 14 January 1943 – Archbishop of Genoa
146. Théodore-Adrien Sarr (Senegal) – born 28 November 1936 – Archbishop of Dakar
147. Oswald Gracias (India) – born 24 December 1944 – Archbishop of Bombay
148. Francisco Robles Ortega (Mexico) – born 2 March 1949 – Archbishop of Monterrey
149. Daniel DiNardo (United States) – born 23 May 1949 – Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
150. Odilo Pedro Scherer (Brazil) – born 21 September 1949 – Archbishop of São Paulo
151. John Njue (Kenya) – born 1944 – Archbishop of Nairobi
152. Estanislao Esteban Karlic* (Argentina) – born 7 February 1926 – Archbishop Emeritus of Paraná
Cardinals of the Order of Deacons
Cardinal Deacons have the right to apply to become Cardinal Priests after ten years as Cardinal Deacons, with the rare exception of Cardinals who are not Bishops. All living former Cardinal Deacons created prior to 2001 have exercised this right.
Appointed by Pope John Paul II
Consistory of 21 February 2001
153. Agostino Cacciavillan* (Italy) – born 14 August 1926 – President Emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, Cardinal Protodeacon since March 2008
154. Sergio Sebastiani (Italy) – born 11 April 1931 – President Emeritus of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
155. Zenon Grocholewski (Poland) – born 11 October 1939 – Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
156. Jorge María Mejía* (Argentina) – born 31 January 1923 – Librarian and Archivist Emeritus of the Holy Roman Church
157. Walter Kasper (Germany) – born 5 March 1933 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
158. Roberto Tucci* (Italy) – born 19 April 1921 – Priest of Society of Jesus and President Emeritus of the Administrative Committee of Radio Vatican
Consistory of 21 October 2003
159. Jean-Louis Tauran (France) – born 3 April 1943 – President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
160. Renato Raffaele Martino (Italy) – born 23 November 1932 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
161. Francesco Marchisano* (Italy) – born 25 June 1929 – President Emeritus of the Office of Labor of the Apostolic See
162. Julián Herranz Casado* (Spain) – born 31 March 1930 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
163. Javier Lozano Barragán (Mexico) – born 26 January 1933 – President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers
164. Attilio Nicora (Italy) – born 16 March 1937 – President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
165. Georges Marie Martin Cottier* (Switzerland) – born 25 April 1922 – Titular Archbishop of Tullia, retired as Pro-Theologian of the Pontifical Household and as Secretary-General of the International Theological Commission
166. Stanisław Nagy* (Poland) – born 30 September 1921 – Titular Archbishop of Holar and Professor Emeritus of Theology
Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI
Consistory of 24 March 2006
167. William Joseph Levada (United States) – born 15 June 1936 – Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
168. Franc Rodé (Slovenia) – born 23 September 1934 – Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
169. Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo* (Italy) – born 27 August 1925 – Archpriest Emeritus of the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls
170. Albert Vanhoye* (France) – born 23 July 1923 – formerly rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission
Consistory of 24 November 2007
171. Leonardo Sandri (Argentina) – born 18 November 1943 – Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
172. John Patrick Foley (United States) – born 11 November 1935 – Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
173. Giovanni Lajolo (Italy) – born 3 January 1935 – President of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
174. Paul Josef Cordes (Germany) – born 5 September 1935 – President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum
175. Angelo Comastri (Italy) – born 17 September 1943 – Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, Vicar General for the Vatican City State, and President of the Fabric of St. Peter
176. Stanisław Ryłko (Poland) – born 4 July 1945 – President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
177. Raffaele Farina (Italy) – born 24 September 1933 – Librarian and Archivist of the Holy Roman Church
178. Giovanni Coppa* (Italy) – born 9 November 1925 – Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus to Czech Republic
179. Urbano Navarrete Cortés* (Spain) – born 25 May 1920 – Rector Emeritus of the Pontifical Gregorian University
Web Resources
A good page to observe the make-up of the College by Cardinals is at the following web site: https://popes-and-papacy.com/wordpress/?p=571 and this collection of charts: https://popes-and-papacy.com/docs/Stats_table.pdf
“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” —Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, philosopher, physicist and writer, 1623-1662)
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