Vatican: Pope Francis appoints 21 new cardinals
September 30, 2023
Pope Francis appointed 21 new cardinals at a ceremony in St Peter's Square in the Vatican on Saturday.
One of the cardinals, 95-year-old Luis Pascual Dri of Argentina, did not attend the event because of his advanced age.
The new cardinals come from the United States, France, Italy, Argentina, Switzerland, South Africa, Spain, Colombia, South Sudan, Hong Kong, Poland, Malaysia, Tanzania, Venezuela and Portugal. South Sudan got its first cardinal and Malaysia got the second in its history.
As in previous years, Francis has increasingly chosen bishops and archbishops from non-European countries to be named cardinals. "Diversity is necessary; it is indispensable," Francis said.
Pope Francis cements his legacy
Appointments to the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals, which elects new popes, effectively allow the pontiff to influence the choice of his successor.
There are now 137 cardinal electors, about 73% of whom were chosen by Francis. This increases the likelihood that the next pope will share his vision of a more progressive, inclusive church.
Eighteen of the 21 new appointees are under 80 years of age, and would therefore be eligible to vote in a possible conclave to elect a new pope. Vatican rules do not allow cardinals over that age to vote in a conclave.
This means that 99 of the 137 cardinals who are currently eligible to elect the next pope have now been appointed by Francis, who is 86 years old. One of these cardinals could one day be elected by his peers to succeed Francis.
dh/lo (AFP, dpa, Reuters)