Jean-Pierre Kutwa. Archbishop of Abidjan. Both of the Africans who were named cardinals by Francis hail from West Africa, one from the Ivory Coast and the other from Burkina Faso, just north of the Ivory Coast. Jean-Pierre Kutwa, the archbishop of Abidjan, is not the first bishop from his country to receive the title; [...]
Gerald Cyprien Lacroix. Archbishop of Quebec. Canada’s newest cardinal, Archbishop Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, was born in a small village in southern Quebec near the Maine border, grew up in New Hampshire where his family moved when he was eight, has many years of experience working as a missionary in South America, and is committed [...]
Leopoldo José Brenes Solorzano. Archbishop of Managua. Leopoldo José Brenes Solorzano, the new cardinal from Managua, Nicaragua, had no idea he was going to be among the Latin American Pope’s first batch of cardinals. When he arrived at the city’s cathedral on the day of the news, the white-haired prelate was greeted by a [...]
Vincent Nichols. Archbishop of Westminster. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, will be one of 19 new cardinals from around the world who will be appointed at the next consistory of cardinals, which takes place at the Vatican on February 22. “I am deeply moved by the honor conferred on the Catholic [...]
Gerhard Ludwig Müller. Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus of Regensburg, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. Gerhard Müller, 66, the third name on the list, was another “necessary” choice. One of the last decisions of Pope Benedict before he resigned was to name (in July 2012) Archbishop Müller head of the Vatican’s chief doctrinal [...]
Beniamino Stella. Titular Archbishop of Midila, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. When the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano asked Archbishop Beniamino Stella recently to describe the ideal profile of a student of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where one studies to become a Vatican diplomat — which he directed until recently — he immediately answered: “Above [...]
Lorenzo Baldisseri. Titular Archbishop of Diocleziana, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. The second name on the Pope’s list of new cardinals is that of the new head of the Synod of Bishops, also an Italian, Lorenzo Baldisseri, 73. Pope Francis, moments after his election on March 13, famously removed his own cardinal’s cap [...]
Pietro Parolin, Titular Archbishop of Acquapendente, Secretary of State. Pietro Parolin, an Italian, was appointed Vatican Secretary of State by Pope Francis in August 2013 (he took office in mid-October). His elevation is due to the canonical and diplomatic seniority the position of Vatican Secretary of State normally requires. Archbishop Parolin, at 59, is [...]
Pope Francis chooses 19 new cardinals. Pope Francis, at his noon Angelus on January 14, announced the names of 19 new cardinals he had chosen: 16 “electing” cardinals under the age of 80, and three “honorary” cardinals above the age of 80 who are not eligible to vote in a conclave. The ceremony to [...]
Purchase the book As a leader of the Legionaries of Christ, Father Thomas Williams was a leading moral theologian in Rome. But two years ago, it became public that he had fathered a son ten years ago. He first stepped down from all his functions as a Legionary priest, then left the priesthood to [...]