The death of Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns at the age of 95 today leads to an interesting change in the College of Cardinals, albeit a ceremonial one with virtually no effect of the day-to-day affairs of that body.

Cardinal Arns was created a cardinal by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1973. His death leaves only one surviving cardinal, albeit a former cardinal, created by that Pope. He is the Pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, created in the four-man consistory of 1977 (the blessed pope’s last one).

Cardinal Arns was also the most senior of the Cardinal-Priests, one of three classes of cardinals. This gave him the office of protopriest, which entailed certain duties following the election of a new Pope. The protopriest pronounces the formal prayer for the new Pope after the protodeacon has bestowed the pallium and before the Dean of the College of Cardinals presents the Ring of the Fisherman. That said, Cardinal Arns never exercised that duty as he was not present at the inauguration of Pope Francis, and Cardinal Danneels acted in his stead.

The new protopriest is Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu, 87, retired archbishop of Bangkok and created in Pope Saint John Paul II’s second consistory in 1983 (the same consistory in which Cardinals Danneels and Meisner were created. Cardinal Kitbunchu is protopriest only because his name came before theirs on the official list).

Cardinal Paulo Evarista Arns was auxiliary bishop of São Paulo in Brazil from 1966 to 1970, and archbishop of that same see from 1970 to 1998. As cardinal he held the title church of Sant’Antonio da Padova in Via Tuscolana. He had been protopriest since 2012, the third Brazilian in that role after Cardinals Sales (2009-2012) and De Vasconcelos Motta (1977-1982). Cardinal Arns had been in hospital since the end of November for pneumonia. An obituary for the ‘cardinal of the people’ may be read here.

Out of the blue, Pope Francis today announced that he will be creating five new cardinals on 28 June. What is not surprising is that the new red hats will, for the most part, go to the peripheries of the world. The only new cardinal who was a likely is the archbishop of Barcelona, Spain. The others reside, in Mali, Sweden, Laos and El Salvador.

Archbishop Jean Zerbo, 73, is the archbishop of Bamako, Mali. Although that see has been an archdiocese since 1955, it has never had a cardinal. Cardinal-designate Zerbo was auxiliary bishop of Bamako from 1988 to 1994, Bishop of Mopti from 1994 to 1998, and archbishop of Bamako since then. He has been a clear voice for aid to people suffering from war and terror in Mali and other countries in the southern Sahara.

Archbishop Juan José Omella, 71, is the arcbishop of Barcelona in Spain. He will be the fourth successive archbishop of that city to become a cardinal. Cardinal-designate Omella was auxiliary bishop of Zaragoza from 1996 to 1999, bishop of Barbastro-Monzón from 1999 to 2004, bishop of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño from 2004 to 2015, and archbishop of Barcelona since then.

Bishop Anders Arborelius, 67, is the bishop of Stockholm, Sweden. He wil be the first Swedish cardinal, and the first from Scandinavia as a whole. Cardinjal-designate Arborelius has been the bishop of Stockholm since 1998. His appointment is undoubtedly related to Pope Francis’ visit to Sweden in 2016, to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, during which Bishop Arborelius was one of the Pope’s hosts.

Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, 73, is the vicar apostolic of Pakse, and currently also the apostolic administrator of Vientiane, both in Laos. He will the first Laotian cardinal. He has served as vicar apostolic of Pakse since 2000. Bishop Mangkhanekhoun visited Rome with the other bishops from Laos on an Ad Limina visit in January, during which the idea to create a cardinal from that country may have come to the Pope.

Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavéz, 74, is auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. He will the only, and perhaps also first, auxiliary bishop to be made a cardinal, as well as El Salvador’s first and only cardinal. He has been auxiliary bishop of the Salvadorian capital since 1982, appointed shortly after the martyrdom of Blessed Archbishop Romero.

All five new cardinals will be cardinal priests as well as cardinal electors. The total number of cardinals will be 227 on 28 June, with 121 of them able to participate in a conclave. This will be Pope Francis’ fourth consistory, in which he has created 60 cardinals.

It has been speculated that Pope Francis would be willing to raise the maximum number of cardinal electors beyond the current 120. While he has exceeded that now by 1, it appears more as if he wants to keep the cardinal electors at 120 or thereabouts as long as possible. Hence the small consistory now (the previous consistory of similar size was Benedict XVI’s last, in 2012, in which he created six cardinals). The Holy Father could have waited until June of 2018, when a further seven cardinals would have aged out, and created 12 or 13 cardinals them, but he is clearly unwilling to wait that long.

Midway through the last month of the year, it is a good time to look ahead to the new year. 2018 will undoubtedly feature its share of Catholic news, developments and, not least, opinions in social media. Every year since the launch of this blog has had had more than a few surprises, so a look at the future can’t be anything but incomplete, but there are a few things which we know will happen.

The retirement and appointment of bishops is pretty easy to predict, as bishops are legally bound to offer their resignation when they reach the age of 75. Locally, there are currently three dioceses without a bishop: Roermond in the Netherlands, and Hildesheim and Würzburg in Germany. In 2018, two more will likely join these: in Fulda, Bishop Heinz Josef Algermissen (at right) will celebrate his 75th on 15 February, and in Namur, Bishop Remy Vancottem will do likewise on 25 July. A third likely diocese to fall vacant in Ghent. Bishop Luc van Looy will turn 77 on 28 September. Upon his 75th birthday, the diocese made it known that Pope Francis had requested the bishop stay on for two more years, and that extension is up this year.

Other predictable events include the 80th birthdays of cardinals, the age at which they cease their duties in the Roman Curia and are no longer able to participate in a conclave. In 2018, six cardinals will mark this milestone:

• Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliò on 3 February
• Paolo Cardinal Romeo on 20 February
• Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio on 6 March
• Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro on 29 March
• Pierre Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Nhơn on 1 April
• Angelo Cardinal Amato on 8 June

While all hold memberships in various dicasteries in the curia, two of these sit at the head of them: Cardinal Coccopalmerio is president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and Cardinal Amato (at left) is the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Nhơn remains active as archbishop of Hanoi. All will undoubtedly retire upon their 80th birthday, opening up some interesting positions in the curia. Barring any deaths, the number of cardinal electors will stand at 114 by mid-2018. Possibly not low enough for a new consistory by itself, but considering the fact that a further 10 ill age out in 2019, Pope Francis may decide to be proactive and call a consistory in autumn for the creation of anywhere between 6 and 16 new cardinals.

Speaking about the pope, he will, despite the fact that he has no love for travelling, visit several countries in 2018. In January, he will once again return to South America, visiting Peru and Chile. Ireland is on the schedule in August, when the Holy Father will attend the World Meeting of Families taking place in Dublin (logo at right). Visits not yet confirmed are to the Baltic countries in September and to Romania in December. A visit to India also remains an option, but as Pope Francis has just wrapped a visit to India’s neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh, it may not be at the top of the list.

In the latter part of the year, all eyes will be on the Synod of Bishops again, this while the reverberations of the last two assemblies of that body are still being felt. The October 2018 Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops while focus on “Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment”. To this assembly, each bishops’ conference will elect one or more (depending on their size) delegates, while the Pope will also make a personal selection of delegates. One of these personal choices has already been made: Sérgio Cardinal Da Rocha, the archbishop of Brasília, was appointed as Relator General of next year’s assembly. He will outline the theme at the start of the assembly and summarise the delegates’ speeches so they can be condensed into concrete proposals.

Photo credit: [1] Bistum Fulda, [2] Fotos Presidencia El Salvador/Wikipedia

Today marks not only Pope Francis’ fifth red hat day, with the ceremonies to begin at 4 pm Roman time, but also an historical change in the composition of the College of Cardinals, albeit one with, on first glance, little effect on the day to day affairs of the Church.

The College of Cardinals is divided into three ranks: the cardinal-deacons, cardinal-priests and cardinal-bishops. Of these, the cardinal-bishops are of the highest rank and also the smallest of the three groups. Traditionally, the cardinal-bishops were the bishops of the seven* suburbicarian sees, the ancient dioceses surrounding Rome. Before 1962, these cardinals were the actual bishops of the suburbicarian sees, but in that year the position became titular and the dioceses received bishops who had the time to actual manage them.

The cardinal-bishops remained the highest order of cardinals, however, and from their ranks the dean and vice-dean of the entire College were chosen. In times of a sede vacante this becomes most visible, as the dean has the duty of calling the other cardinals to Rome and organising the conclave to elect a new pope. Today, the Dean of the College of Cardinals is the cardinal-bishop of Albano and Ostia, Cardinal Angelo Sodano**.

In 1965, the order of cardinal-bishops was expanded by the addition of those patriarchs of eastern Churches in union with Rome who were made cardinals. There are three of these today: the Coptic patriarch and the current and previous Maronite patriarchs. After today’s consistory, they will be joined by the Chaldean patriarch. These eastern cardinal-bishops, while equal in rank to the others, receive no suburbicarian see and do not participate in the election of dean and vice-dean (they are also unable to be elected themselves)***.

Over the centuries, but especially in the last decades, the College of Cardinals has continuously grown in size. For example, about a century ago, the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XV consisted of 57 cardinals (a further 8 were unable to take part), while following today’s consistory, there will be 125 electors. This growth took part solely in the ranks of the cardinal-deacons and the cardinal-priests. The cardinal-bishops steadfastly remained limited to the holders of the suburbicarian sees. To remedy that, Pope Francis decided to select four cardinals to be elevated to the rank of cardinal-bishops. They keep their current title churches and duties, but it may be assumed that they are now first in line to be moved to a suburbicarian see when one falls vacant. The four new cardinal-bishops are full members of the highest section of the hierarchy in all respects, and can vote for and be elected as dean or vice-dean. Canons 350 and 352 of the Code of Canon Law limit this to the holders of the suburbicarian sees, but that limitation has been waived for the new cardinal-bishops.

For this honour, which is simultaneously an obligation, Pope Francis has selected four cardinals from three different countries, who all work in the Curia in Rome.

1. Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State, 63. Perhaps the most important rising star in Francis’ papacy. A trained diplomat, the erstwhile Nuncio to Venezuela was called to Rome in 2013 to succeed Cardinal Bertone as Secretary of State. In 2014 he was made a cardinal with the title of Santi Simone e Giuda Taddeo a Torre Angela, and was added to the Council of Cardinals, the C9, that assists the pope in reforming the Curia, about a year after that group was established.
2. Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, 74. Argentinean like the pope, Cardinal Sandri is also a diplomat, having served as Nuncio to Venezuela and Mexico before joining the Secretariat of State as Substitute for General Affairs in 2000. He became Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in 2007 and was made a cardinal in that same year. Last month, he was one of the cardinal-deacons who were promoted to cardinal-priests. He maintained is title of Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari, as he does with his elevation to cardinal-bishop.
3. Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, 74. Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in 2001 and 2002, the Canadian prelate returned home as archbishop of Québec, and was made a cardinal in 2003, with Santa Maria in Traspontina as his title church. Since 2010 he serves as prefect of the congregation which controls the appointing of bishops around the world.
4. Fernando Cardinal Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, 72. Like two of his three classmates a diplomat, having served as Nuncio in Jordan, Iraq and the Philippines. Like Cardinal Sandri, he also served as Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, from 2007 to 2011. In that latter year he became Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, and was made a cardinal in 2012. He holds the title of Nostra Signora do Coromoto in San Giovanni di Dio.

In paractice these changes mean that Cardinals Parolin, Sandri, Ouellet and Filoni are among the most significant collaborators of the pope, and when the time for a conclave comes, it will be Cardinal Parolin who will oversee the proceedings: he will take on those duties that Cardinal Sodano is unable to because of his age.

With these elevations and the creation of fourteen new cardinals today, the makeup of the entire College of Cardinals is listed below. In bold are those cardinals under the age of 80, who can vote in a conclave. Their duties and offices are summarised here. In many cases, especially for cardinals working in the curia, they have or had several functions. I have chosen to list only their most prominent or best-known roles.

Cardinal-Bishops

1. Angelo Cardinal Sodano: Dean of the College of Cardinals, Secretary of State emeritus
2. Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re: Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops
3. Roger Cardinal Etchegaray: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
4. Francis Cardinal Arinze: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
5. Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone: Secretary of State emeritus
6. José Cardinal Saraiva Martins: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
7. Pietro Cardinal Parolin: Secretary of State
8. Leonardo Cardinal Sandri: Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
9. Marc Cardinal Ouellet: Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
10. Fernando Cardinal Filoni: Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples
11. Nasrallah Pierre Cardinal Sfeir: Patriarch emeritus of Antioch (Maronite Rite)
12. Antonios Cardinal Naguib: Patriarch emeritus of Alexandria (Coptic Rite)
13. Béchara Pierre Cardinal Raï: Patriarch of Antioch (Maronite Rite)
14. Louis Raphaël I Cardinal Sako: Patriarch of Babylon (Chaldean Rite)

Cardinal-Priests

1. Michael Michai Cardinal Kitbunchu: Archbishop emeritus of Bangkok
2. Alexandre Cardinal do Nascimento: Archbishop emeritus of Luanda
3. Godfried Cardinal Danneels: Archbishop emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel
4. Thomas Stafford Cardinal Williams: Archbishop emeritus of Wellington
5. Henryk Roman Cardinal Gulbinowicz: Archbishop emeritus of Wroclaw
6. Jozef Cardinal Tomko: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples
7. Paul Cardinal Poupard: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture, President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
8. Friedrich Cardinal Wetter: Archbishop emeritus of München und Freising
9. Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis: Archbishop emeritus of Utrecht
10. Eduardo Cardinal Martínez Somalo: Prefect emeritus of the Consecration for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
11. Achille Cardinal Silvestrini: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
12. José Freire Cardinal Falcão: Archbishop emeritus of Brasília
13. Alexandre José María Cardinal dos Santos: Archbishop emeritus of Maputo
14. Christian Wiyghan Cardinal Tumi: Archbishop emeritus of Douala
15. Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
16. Nicolás de Jesús Cardinal López Rodríguez: Archbishop emeritus of Santo Domingo
17. Roger Michael Cardinal Mahony: Archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles
18. Camillo Cardinal Ruini: Vicar General emeritus for the Vicariate of Rome, Archpriest emeritus of S. John Lateran
19. Henri Cardinal Schwery: Bishop emeritus of Sion
20. Jaime Lucas Cardinal Ortega y Alamino: Archbishop emeritus of Havana
21. Julius Riyadi Cardinal Darmaatmadja: Archbishop emeritus of Jakarta
22. Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala: Archbishop emeritus of Kampala
23. Adam Joseph Cardinal Maida: Archbishop emeritus of Detroit
24. Vinko Cardinal Puljic: Archbihsop of Vrhbosna
25. Juan Cardinal Sandoval Íñiguez: Archbihsop emeritus of Guadalajara
26. Jorge Arturo Cardinal Medina Estévez: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
27. James Francis Cardinal Stafford: Archbishop emeritus of Denver
28. Salvatore Cardinal De Giorgi: Archbishop emeritus of Palermo
29. Serafim Fernandes Cardinal de Araújo: Archbishop emeritus of Belo Horizonte
30. Antonio María Cardinal Rouco Varela: Archbishop emeritus of Madrid
31. Polycarp Cardinal Pengo: Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam
32. Christoph Cardinal Schönborn: Archbishop of Vienna
33. Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carrera: Archbishop emeritus of Mexico
34. Marian Cardinal Jaworski: Archbishop emeritus of Lviv
35. Janis Cardinal Pujats: Archbishop emeritus of Riga
36. Agostino Cardinal Cacciavillan: President emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
37. Sergio Cardinal Sebastiani: President emeritus of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
38. Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski: Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
39. Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe: Archbishop of Naples
40. Walter Cardinal Kasper: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
41. Geraldo Majella Cardinal Agnelo: Archbishop emeritus of São Salvador de Bahia
42. Pedro Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz: Archbishop emeritus of Bogotá
43. Theodore Edgar Cardinal McCarrick: Archbishop emeritus of Washington
44. Audrys Juozas Cardinal Backis: Archbishop emeritus of Vilnius
45. Francisco Javier Cardinal Errázuriz Ossa: Archbishop emeritus of Santiago de Chile
46. Wilfrid Fox Cardinal Napier: Archbishop of Durban
47. Óscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga: Archbishop of Tegucigalpa and Coordinator of the Council of Cardinals
48. Juan Luis Cardinal Cipriani Thorne: Archbishop of Lima
49. Francisco Cardinal Álvarez Martínez: Archbishop emeritus of Toledo
50. Cláudio Cardinal Hummes: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Clergy
51. Severino Cardinal Poletto: Archbishop emeritus of Torino
52. Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran: President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
53. Julián Cardinal Herranz Casado: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
54. Javier Cardinal Lozano Barragán: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers
55. Angelo Cardinal Scola: Archbishop emeritus of Milan
56. Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie: Archbishop emeritus of Lagos
57. Gabriel Cardinal Zubier Wako: Archbishop emeritus of Khartoum
58. Carlos Cardinal Amigo Vallejo: Archbihsop emeritus of Sevilla
59. Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali: Archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia
60. Eusébio Oscar Cardinal Scheid: Archbishop emeritus of Rio de Janeiro
61. Ennio Cardinal Antonelli: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Family
62. Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson: Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
63. Telesphore Placidus Cardinal Toppo: Archbishop emeritus of Ranchi
64. George Cardinal Pell: Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy
65. Josip Cardinal Bozanic: Archbishop of Zagreb
66. Jean-Baptise Cardinal Pham Minh Man: Archbishop emeritus of Ho Chi Minh City
67. Philipp Christian Igance Marie Cardinal Barbarin: Archbishop of Lyon
68. Péter Cardinal Erdö: Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest
69. William Joseph Cardinal Levada: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
70. Franc Cardinal Rode: Prefect emeritus of the Consecration for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
71. Agostino Cardinal Vallini: Pontifical Legate for the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi
72. Jorge Liberato Cardinal Urosa Savino: Archbishop of Caracas
73. Gaudencio Borbon Cardinal Rosales: Archbishop emeritus of Manila
74. Jean-Pierre Bernard Cardinal Ricard: Archbishop of Bordeaux
75. Antonio Cardinal Cañizares Llovera: Archbishop of Valencia
76. Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk: Archbishop emeritus of Seoul
77. Seán Patrick Cardinal O’Malley: Archbishop of Boston
78. Stanislaw Cardinal DziwiszArchbishop emeritus of Kraków
79. Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun: Bishop emeritus of Hong Kong
80. Albert Cardinal Vanhoye: Secretary emeritus of the Pontifical Biblical Commission
81. Giovanni Cardinal Lajolo: President emeritus of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and President emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State
82. Paul Josef Cardinal Cordes: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”
83. Angelo Cardinal Comastri: Archpriest of St. Peter and Vicar General for the Vatican City State
84. Stanislaw Cardinal Rylko: Archpries of St. Mary Major
85. Raffaele Cardinal Farina: Librarian emeritus of the Vatican Apostolic Library and Archivist emeritus of the Vatican Secret Archives
86. Seán Baptist Cardinal Brady: Archbishop emeritus of Armagh
87. Lluís Cardinal Martinez Sistach: Archbishop emeritus of Barcelona
88. André Armand Cardinal Vingt-Trois: Archbishop emeritus of Paris
89. Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco: Archbishop of Genova
90. Théodore-Adrien Cardinal Sarr: Archbishop emeritus of Dakar
91. Oswald Cardinal Gracias: Archbishop of Bombay
92. Francisco Cardinal Robles Ortega: Archbishop of Guadalajara
93. Daniel Nicholas Cardinal DiNardo: Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
94. Odilo Pedro Cardinal Scherer: Archbishop of São Paulo
95. John Cardinal Njue: Archbishop of Nairobi
96. Estanislao Esteban Cardinal Karlic: Archbishop emeritus of Paraná
97. Raúl Eduardo Cardinal Vela Chiriboga: Archbishop emeritus of Quito
98. Laurent Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya: Archbishop of Kinshasa
99. Paolo Cardinal Romeo: Archbishop emeritus of Palermo
100. Donald William Cardinal Wuerl: Archbishop of Washington
101. Raymundo Damasceno Cardinal Assis: Archbishop emeritus of Aparecida
102. Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz: Archbishop of Warszawa
103. Albert Malcolm Ranjith Cardinal Patabendige Don: Archbishop of Colombo
104. Reinhard Cardinal Marx: Archbishop of München und Freising
105. José Manuel Cardinal Estepa Llaurens: Military Ordinary emeritus of Spain
106. George Cardinal Alencherry: Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly (Syro-Malabar Rite)
107. Thomas Christopher Cardinal Collins: Archbishop of Toronto
108. Dominik Cardinal Duka: Archbishop of Prague
109. Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk: Archbishop of Utrecht
110. Giuseppe Cardinal Betori: Archbishop of Firenze
111. Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan: Archbishop of New York
112. Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki: Archbishop of Köln
113. John Cardinal Tong Hon: Bishop emeritus of Hong Kong
114. Lucian Cardinal Muresan: Major Archbishop of Fagaras si Alba Iulia (Romanian Rite)
115. Baselios Cleemis Cardinal Thottunkal: Major Archbishop of Trivandrum (Syro-Malankar Rite)
116. John Olorunfemi Cardinal Onaiyekan: Archbishop of Abuja
117. Jesús Rubén Cardinal Salazar Gómez: Archbishop of Bogotá
118. Luis Antonio Gokim Cardinal Tagle: Archbishop of Manila
119. Vincent Gerard Cardinal Nichols: Archbishop of Westminster
120. Leopoldo José Cardinal Brenes Solórzano: Archbishop of Managua
121. Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix: Archbishop of Québec
122. Jean-Pierre Cardinal Kutwa: Archbishop of Abidjan
123. Orani João Cardinal Tempesta: Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro
124. Gualtiero Cardinal Bassetti: Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve
125. Mario Aurelio Cardinal Poli: Archbishop of Buenos Aires
126. Andrew Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung: Archbishop of Seoul
127. Ricardo Cardinal Ezzati Andrello: Archbishop of Santiago de Chile
128. Philippe Nakellentuba Cardinal Ouédraogo: Archbishop of Ouagadougou
129. Orlando Beltran Cardinal Quevedo: Archbishop of Cotabato
130. Chibly Cardinal Langlois: Bishop of Les Cayes
131. Fernando Cardinal Sebastián Aguilar: Archbishop emeritus of Pamplona y Tudela
132. Kelvin Edward Cardinal Felix: Archbishop emeritus of Castries
133. Manuel José Cardinal Macário do Nascimento Clemente: Patriarch of Lissabon
134. Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel: Metropolitan of Addis Abeba (Ethiopic Rite)
135. John Atcherley Cardinal Dew: Archbishop of Wellington
136. Edoardo Cardinal Menichelli: Archbishop emeritus of Ancona-Osimo
137. Pierre Cardinal Nguyen Van Nhon: Archbishop of Hanoi
138. Alberto Cardinal Suárez Inda: Archbishop emeritus of Morelia
139. Charles Maung Cardinal Bo: Archbishop of Yangon
140. Francis Xavier Kriengsak Cardinal Kovithavanij: Archbishop of Bangkok
141. Francesco Cardinal Montenegro: Archbishop of Agrigento
142. Daniel Fernando Cardinal Sturla Berhouet: Archbishop of Montevideo
143. Ricardo Cardinal Blázquez Pérez: Archbishop of Valladolid
144. José Luis Cardinal Lacunza Maestrojuán: Bishop of David
145. Arlindo Cardinal Gomes Furtado: Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde
146. Soane Patita Cardinal Mafi: Bishop of Tonga
147. José de Jesús Cardinal Pimiento Rodriguez: Archbishop emeritus of Manizales
148. Luis Héctor Cardinal Villalba: Archbishop emeritus of Tucumán
149. Júlio Duarte Cardinal Langa: Bishop emeritus of Xai-Xai
150. Dieudonné Cardinal Nzapalainga: Archbishop of Bangui
151. Carlos Cardinal Osoro Sierra: Archbishop of Madrid
152. Sérgio Cardinal da Rocha: Archbishop of Brasília
153. Blase Joseph Cardinal Cupich: Archbishop of Chicago
154. Patrick Cardinal D’Rozario: Archbishop of Dhaka
155. Baltazar Enrique Cardinal Porras Cardozo: Archbishop of Mérida
156. Jozef Cardinal De Kesel: Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel
157. Maurice Cardinal Piat: Bishop of Port-Louis
158. Carlos Cardinal Aguiar Retes: Archbishop of Mexico
159. John Cardinal Ribat: Archbishop of Port Moresby
160. Joseph William Cardinal Tobin: Archbishop of Newark
161. Anthony Soter Cardinal Fernandez: Archbishop emeritus of Kuala Lumpur
162. Renato Cardinal Corti: Bishop emeritus of Novara
163. Sebastian Koto Cardinal Khoarai: Bishop emeritus of Mohale’s Hoek
164. Jean Cardinal Zerbo: Archbishop of Bamako
165. Juan José Cardinal Omella Omella: Archbishop of Barcelona
166. Anders Cardinal Arborelius: Bishop of Stockholm
167. Lousi-Marie Cardinal Ling Mangkhanekhoun: Vicar Apostolic of Vientiane
168. Gregorio Cardinal Rosa Chávez: Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador
169. Joseph Cardinal Coutts: Archbishop of Karachi
170. António Augusto Cardinal dos Santos Marto: Bishop of Leiria-Fátima
171. Pedro Ricardo Cardinal Barreto Jimeno: Archbishop of Huancayo
172. Désiré Cardinal Tsarahazana: Archbishop of Toamasina
173. Giuseppe Cardinal Petrocchi: Archbishop of L’Aquila
174. Thomas Aquino Manyo Cardinal Maeda: Archbishop of Osaka
175. Sergio Cardinal Obeso Rivera: Archbishop emeritus of Jalapa
176. Toribio Cardinal Ticona Porco: Prelate emeritus of Corocoro

Cardinal-Deacons

1. Renato Cardinal Martino: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
2. Angelo Cardinal Amato: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
3. Robert Cardinal Sarah: Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
4. Francesco Cardinal Monterisi: Archpriest emeritus of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls
5. Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke: Patron of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
6. Kurt Cardinal Koch: President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
7. Paolo Cardinal Sardi: Patron emeritus of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
8. Mauro Cardinal Piacenza: Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary
9. Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi: President of the Pontifical Council for Culture
10. Elio Cardinal Sgreccia: President emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life
11. Walter Cardinal Brandmüller: President emeritus of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences
12. Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro: Major Penitentiary emeritus of the Apostolic Penitentiary
13. Santos Cardinal Abril y Castelló: Archpriest emeritus of St. Mary Major
14. Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliò: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
15. Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello: President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State
16. Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
17. João Cardinal Bráz de Aviz: Prefect of the Consecration for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
18. Edwin Frederick Cardinal O’Brien: Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepuclhre of Jerusalem
19. Domenico Cardinal Calcagno: President emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
20. Giuseppe Cardinal Versaldi: Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
21. Prosper Cardinal Grech: Priest of the Archdiocese of Malta
22. James Michael Cardinal Harvey: Archpriest of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls
23. Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri: Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops
24. Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
25. Beniamino Cardinal Stella: Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy
26. Dominique Francois Joseph Cardinal Mamberti: Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
27. Luigi Cardinal De Magistris: Major Pro-Penitentiary emeritus
28. Karl-Josef Cardinal Rauber: Apostolic Nuncio emeritus to Belgium and Luxembourg
29. Mario Cardinal Zenari: Apostolic Nuncio to Syria
30. Kevin Joseph Cardinal Farrell: Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life
31. Ernest Cardinal Simoni: Priest of the Diocese of Shkodrë-Pult
32. Luis Francisco Cardinal Ladaria Ferrer: Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
33. Angelo Cardinal De Donatis: Archpriest of St. John Lateran and Vicar General for the Vicariate of Rome
34. Giovanni Angelo Cardinal Becciu: Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
35. Konrad Cardinal Krajewski: Almoner of His Holiness
36. Aquilino Cardinal Bocos Merino: Superior General emeritus of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

*Over time, there have been some mergers and splits among these seven sees, but today they are: Albano, Frascati, Ostia, Palestrina, Porto-Santa Rufina, Sabina-Poggio Mirteto and Velletri-Segni.

*The title of Ostia is given to the Dean in addition to his own titular diocese. It has no bishop of its own and it is governed by the vicar-general for the Vicariate of Rome, currently Archbishop Angelo De Donatis, who himself will be made a cardinal today.

***This may be one of the reasons for today’s changes. If a conclave were to be held now, its proceedings would be overseen by Maronite Patriarch Béchara Cardinal Raï, himself not a Roman prelate. This would be so because the dean, at 90, is too old to participate in a conclave and his duties would then automatically fall to the senior cardinal-bishop who is also an elector. Cardinal Raï is the sole elector among the cardinal-bishops today.

Photo credit: [2] Alessia GIULIANI/CPP/CIRIC, [4] CNS/Paul Haring, [5] AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

His body may not have cooperated always, but it never stopped Jean-Louis Tauran from working ceaselessly, travelling the world in the name of cooperation and goodwill between the world’s religions. The 75-year-old prelate, who earlier this month became the highest ranking Catholic cardinal to meet with the Saudi king on his home turf, raising hopes that the Arab kingdom would become more open to other faiths in the future, died unexpectedly last night. He had recently been undergoing treatment for Parkinson’s disease in the United States.

To the world, Cardinal Tauran became best known in 2013 when he announced, With a shaky voice due to his condition, the election of Pope Francis from the balcony of St. Peter’s.

A priest of the French Archdiocese of Bordeaux, Cardinal Tauran entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1975, working in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Lebanon and Syria. He was called to Rome in 1989 as undersecretary for Relations with States in the Secretariat of State, being promoted to full secretary in 1990. In 2003 he was one of St. John Paul II’s last 30 cardinals to be created, and at the same time he was appointed as librarian and archivist. Since 2007 until his death he held the offices which characterised his final years: president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and prefect of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims. In 2011, Cardinal Tauran became the senior cardinal-deacon, which bestowed upon him the duty of announcing the name of a newly-elected pontiff, which he did in 2013. In 2014 he was elevated to the rank of cardinal-priests and in the same year Pope Francis chose him as his camerlengo, the prelate to manage the affairs of the Holy See upon the death of the pope. Cardinal Tauran was the Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Apollinare alle Terme Nerionane-Alessandrine.

Although Cardinal Tauran reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in April, there was no sign of it being accepted anytime soon. The new head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue needs to be an experienced diplomat, able to walk the tightrope between different systems of belief and morality without losing sight of his own roots. Whoever his successor will turn out to be, he will have large shoes to fill.

In the meantime, those who met him mourn a humble man of dialogue and truth and a tireless servant of the Gospel.

Photo credit: P.RAZZO/CIRIC

A new year, so a good time to look ahead to what 2019 may bring. The year will undoubtedly have its share of surprises, but there are always some things we can know for sure.

Among these is the inevitable progression of time, and thus the aging out of cardinals. In 2019, ten cardinals will celebrate their 80th birthday and so lose their right to participate in a conclave for the election of a new pope, as well as any duties they may have in the curia. The umber of cardinal-electors will drop from 124 to 114. Still a sufficient number, but Pope Francis has shown that he wants to keep the electors as close to their theoretical maximum of 120 (or over it, as the case is now), so a consistory may be in the books sometime towards the end of the year, or at the start of 2020.

The cardinals aging out are:

• 30 January: Alberto Cardinal Suárez Inda, archbishop emeritus of Morelia, Mexico
• 11 March: Orlando Beltran Cardinal Quevedo, archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, Philippines
• 8 April: Edwin Frederick Cardinal O’Brien, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
• 27 April: Stanislaw Cardinal Dziwisz, archbishop emeritus of Kraków, Poland (pictured at right)
• 31 July: John Cardinal Tong Hon, bishop emeritus and apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, China
• 16 August: Seán Baptist Cardinal Brady, archbishop emeritus of Armagh, Northern Ireland
• 7 October: Laurent Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop emeritus of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• 11 October: Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education
• 14 October: Edoardo Cardinal Menichelli, archbishop emeritus of Ancona-Osimo, Italy
• 15 October: Telesphore Placidus Cardinal Toppo, archbishop emeritus of Ranchi, India

Who may replace these cardinals among the electors is guesswork, as Pope Francis has never felt bound to pick his cardinals from the traditional places. Still, the list above could give some hints and we may assume that the Holy Father will choose cardinals for countries who no longer have any. That said, possible candidates could be Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Kraków, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa. Another source of new cardinals are the papal visits Pope Francis makes. He has made some of hosts cardinals in the past before. It may therefore be possible that we may see new cardinals from Panama, the Arabian peninsula, Morocco, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania (all confirmed visits), and perhaps Japan, Mozambique and Uganda (rumoured visits).

Closer to home, a number of dioceses will be looking forward to new bishops this year. In the Netherlands, the Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam has just received a coadjutor bishop, although the sitting ordinary, Bishop Jos Punt, expects to remain in office until his 75th birthday in 2021. Health permitting, of course.

In Belgium, Bishop Luc Van Looy of Ghent (pictured at left) has already had his retirement accepted. At 77, he completed a two-year extension to his mandate last year. He is to remain in office until the appointment and installation of his successor. Namur’s Bishop Remy Vancottem is, at 75, also past retirement age, so the southeastern diocese may see a new bishop before the year is out as well.

In Germany, Bishop Konrad Zdarsa of Augsburg will turn 75 in June. Among the country’s auxiliary bishops, there is room in Freiburg im Breisgau where erstwhile auxiliary Bishop Michael Gerber was appointed to Fulda in December.

In the headline-making department, there is of course next month’s meeting of the heads of all the bishops’ conferences in Rome, to discuss a unified Church response to the abuse crisis. Among the participants will be Bishop Hans van den Hende for the Netherlands, Cardinal Jozef De Kesel for Belgium, Cardinal Reinhard Marx for Germany and Bishop Czeslaw Kozon for Scandinavia.

Currently gearing up in Panama, the World Youth Days will take place from 22 to 27 January. The first group of Dutch pilgrims have departed for the Central American country today, with more to follow. Among them will be Bishops Everard de Jong and Jan Hendriks. Bishop de Jong is again replacing Bishop Rob Mutsaerts, who has decided to stay at home as he is recovering from unplanned – and not further specified – surgery. Last year, Bishop Mutsaerts elected not to take part in the Synod assembly on youth and vocation in Rome. Bishop de Jong went in his stead.

In October, the Synod of Bishops will gather again for a special assembly for the Pan-Amazonian region, to discuss the specific challenges for the Church there. The expectations are high, as many assume to what will be decided there, especially on the topic of married priests, will have global consequences. Participation in the special assembly is limited to bishops from the area, which means there is a minute Dutch link, at least when it comes to language, in the person of the bishop of Paramaribo, Msgr. Karel Choennie. Bishop Choennie is a member of the pre-synodal council preparing the special assembly in cooperation with Synod of Bishops’ general secretariat.

2019 will undoubtedly bring much to be discussed in (social) media, and there is still plenty being carried over from previous years. Keeping track of everything, let alone formulating thoughts and responses can sometimes be a challenge, but it’s probably a good idea to remember that not finding words or timely responses does not mean one does not care. There are many opinions, and many eloquent ones at that, to be found everywhere. And, perhaps more importantly, there are also answers to be found in the past. After all, what was true and good in the past remains true and good now. That is something to remember when we are confronted with questions and developments which seem to challenge our beliefs, understanding and even faith. We have a deposit of faith and exegesis to fall back on, and many of today’s questions and challenges are not new ones.

Photo credit: [1] Jarosław Roland Kruk / Wikipedia, licence: CC-BY-SA-3.0, [2] kerknet.be

After a seven-month vacancy, the Catholic Church has a Chamberlain again. Not that that makes any difference for the time being, but there are a few interesting implications all the same. The Chamberlain of the Apostolic Camera exercises his duties, in cooperation with the vice-chamberlain and other officials, when there is no pope. These duties include the notification of the world of a pope’s death, preparations for his funeral and the conclave for the election of a new pope, and the communication of financial reports of the various dicasteries, as well as the will of the late pope, to the College of Cardinals. While the government of the Catholic Church during a sede vacante lies with the College of Cardinals, the Chamberlain has just enough authority to allow the continued functioning of the aparratus of the Church, without making any changes or decisions.

In 2014, Pope Francis chose Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran as his chamberlain. Of course, he never exercised his duties before his death in July of last year. Today, Pope Francis announced Cardinal Tauran’s successor: Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell. The 71-year-old prelate, who serves as the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is the first non-European to be chosen as chamberlain. Cardinal Farrell is Irish, but has long served in the United States before coming to Rome in 2016, first as auxiliary bishop of Washington under former cardinal (and, it is said, soon-to-be laicised) Theodore McCarrick, and then as bishop of Dallas. There has been a chamberlain since 1089, and the vast majority of them have been either Italian or French, with a two Spaniards and an Englishman thrown in for good measure.

Cardinal Farrell is not that surprising a choice, as he has been a close collaborator of the pope for the past few years. He was called in from Dallas to lead the newly-established Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, a duty which lies close to the heart of Pope Francis.

At 71, Cardinal Farrell may be expected to remain chamberlain until somewhere around his 80th birthday. Considering that Pope Francis will then be 90, it is not unimaginable that he actually get to exercise his duties when the time comes.

Although he had vanished from the spotlight in recent, Cardinal Danneels’ near-decade’s worth of retirement was one of the defining periods in his long years of service to the Church in Belgium and across the world. Retiring from the country’s premier see in 2010, Cardinal Danneels made way for a successor who in many ways was his opposite, although Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard shares the cardinal’s innate modesty and prayerful attitude to life. Following the election of Pope Francis in 2013, and Archbishop Léonard’s retirement in 2015, Cardinal Danneels returned to the world’s attention.

Identified by some as a kingmaker playing a pivotal role in the conclave of 2013 (one of two in which he participated), Cardinal Danneels was clearly a trusted cooperator of Pope Francis, who selected him as one of his personal choices to take part in both assembles of the Synod of Bishops on marriage and family in 2014 and 2015. And it is no secret that Cardinal Danneels himself was very happy that Francis became our pope.

But this has rather been an epilogue to a long life, of which more than 60 years were spent in service to the Church.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Anastasia and archbishop emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel, died today at the age of 85. His health had been steadily declining over the past years, and the cardinal spent those years quietly at home in Mechelen, except for those times when Rome called…

Godfried Danneels was born in 1933 and was ordained in 1957 by Bishop Emiel-Jozef De Smedt of Bruges. Danneels spent his priesthood as a professo of liturgy and sacramentology in Bruges and Louvain. In 1977 he was appointed as bishop of Antwerp. He was consecrated by Cardinal Leo Suenens, the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel. A little over two years later, he left Antwerp to succeed Cardinal Suenens in Mechelen-Brussel. As Belgium’s only archbishop, Danneels was the metropolitan of the Church province. He also served as president of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference and vicar of the military vicariate of Belgium, which was promoted to an ordinariate in 1986. In 1983, Pope St. John Paul II created him a cardinal, with the basilica of Santa Anastasia as his title church. Cardinal Danneels served as cardinal in several dicasteries including the Congregation for Bishops, the Congregation for the Clergy, the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

More to come.

Kerknet has an obituary in Dutch.

Photo credit: Belga

Pope Francis yesterday surprisingly announced that he will create 13 new cardinals on 5 October. Surprisingly, because the numbers do not really suggest the ned for a consistory at this time. There are currently 118 electors, cardinals who are active in the Roman Curia and who can vote in a conclave to elect a new Pope, with only 8 aging out between now and the end of 2020. It is clear, however, that Pope Francis prefers having too many rather than too few cardinals, and so habitually ignores the rule that there can only be a maximum of 120 electors (he’s not the only Pope to have done so, however: Pope St. John Paul II once expanded their number to a massive 135).

And, as ever, he also aims for a representative College of Cardinals. In this round, he selects prelates from Luxembourg and Morocco, countries which have never had a cardinal before, but also more traditional cardinalatial sees such as Bologna, Havana and Kinshasa.

And again we see the fallout of recent papal visits abroad. Hence cardinals from Lithuania (visited in September of 2018) and Morocco (March 2019).

After 5 October, there will be 215 cardinals, with 128 electors. Two days later, the latter number will drop again, as Cardinal-designate Ambongo Besungu’s predecessor in Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, reaches the age of 80.

Below a list of the new cardinals:

• Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot (67, Spain)
  • President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Prefect of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims.
• José Tolentino Medonça (53, Portugal)
  • Librarian of the Vatican Apostolic Library and Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives.
• Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo (69, Indonesia)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of Jakarta, Military Ordinary of Indonesia and President of the Episcopal Conference of Indonesia
• Juan de la Caridad  Garciá Rodríguez (71, Cuba)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of La Habana
• Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (59, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa and Vice-President of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo
• Jean-Claude Hollerich (60, Luxembourg) (pictured above)
  • Archbishop of Luxembourg and President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community
• Alvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri (72, Guatemala)
  • Bishop of Huehuetenango
• Matteo Zuppi (63, Italy) (pictured at left giving a homily at the Church of the Frisians in Rome in 2015)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop of Bologna
• Cristóbal López Romero (67, Morocco)
  • Archbishop of Rabat
• Michael Czerny (73, Canada)
  • Undersecretary of the Migrant and Refugee Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
• Michael Louis Fitzgerald (82, United Kingdom)
  • Apostolic Nuncio emeritus to Egypt and Delegate emeritus to the League of Arab States
• Sigitas Tamkevicius (80, Lithuania)
  • Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Kaunas
• Eugenio Dal Corso (80, Angola)
  • Bishop emeritus of Benguela

Of these, cardinals-designate Fitzgerald, Tamkevicius and Dal Corso, being 80 or older, are ineligible to participate in a conclave. Their selection must therefore be seen as a recognition for their work for the Church and the people in their pastoral care.

Cardinal-designate Czerny is also the first elector who is not yet a bishop upon his selection. Priests who are not (yet) bishops can be made cardinals, but this usually only happens for non-electors. As a Jesuit, Msgr. Czerny will probably request dispensation to not be ordained as a bishop before his creation as cardinal. This is par of the course for Jesuits who are not yet made bishops for other reasons (such as Pope Francis, who was ordained a bishop in 1992 to serve as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires).

A joyful photograph reflecting the historical changes at the top of the Archdiocese of Luxembourg. Last week, Bishop Leo Wagener (left), became the archdiocese’s first auxiliary bishop, and yesterday Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich (right) was created the first cardinal in the country’s history.

Cardinal Hollerich, who also leads the Commision of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), consecrated Bishop Wagener on 29th September. The latter’s appointment is undoubtedly related to Cardinal Hollerich’s European duties, while the red hat is at least in part a sign of support for the Catholic community in the small grand duchy. The developments of the last week were certainly momentous.

As of yesterday, each country in the Benelux has its own resident cardinal: Willem Eijk of Utrecht, Jozef De Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels and now Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg. The latter two were created by Pope Francis, while Cardinal Eijk’s red hat was given to him by Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Hollerich was one of 13 cardinals created yesterday. The College of Cardinals now has 225 members, of which 128 are under the age of 80 and will thus have duties in Rome and can take part in a conclave for the election of a new pope. The newest cardinals, with their title churches, are:

1. Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, Cardinal-Deacon of San Girolamo dela Carità
2. José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça, Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Domenico e Sisto
3. Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Cardinal-Priest of Spirito Santo alla Ferratella
4. Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez, Cardinal-Priest of Santi Aquila e Priscilla
5. Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Cardinal-Priest of San Gabriele Arcangelo all’Acqua Traversa
6. Jean-Claude Hollerich, Cardinal-Priest of San Giovanni Crisostomo a Monte Sacro Alto
7. Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, Cardinal-Priest of San Giovanni Evangelista a Spinaceto
8. Matteo Maria Zuppi, Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Egidio
9. Cristóbal López Romero, Cardinal-Priest of San Leone I
10. Michael Czerny, Cardinal-Deacon of San Michele Arcangelo
11. Michael Louis Fitzgerald, Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria In Portico
12. Sigitas Tamkevicius, Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Angela Merici
13. Eugenio Dal Corso, Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Anastasia

In the past there has been no hesitation to create new cardinal titles despite the availability of existing ones, but this time around only one new title church has been added: Sant’Egidio for Cardinal Zuppi. A sensible choice as the cardinal is a member of the movement with the same name. Other notable titles given are Sant’Anastasia for Cardinal Dal Corso – until this year the title of Cardinal Godfried Danneels – and Santi Aquila e Priscilla – Cardinal García Rodríguez is the archbishop of Havana, and the previous holder of the title church was his predecessor in the Cuban capital. Cardinal Hollerich’s title church was most recently held by Cardinal José Pimiento de Rodriguez, for a while the oldest cardinal in the world.

Considering Pope Francis’ habit of choosing cardinals from the peripheries, from countries with small Catholic communities or on the fringes of global affairs, the list of nationalities of cardinals has become a lenghty one. Most cardinals are the only ones from their country, while others have a fair number of countrymen in the College of Cardinals. Starting with the countries with the largest number of cardinals, the list is as follows:

• Italy: 42 cardinals
• Spain, United States: 14
• Brazil: 10
• Germany: 8
• France, Mexico, Poland: 6
• Portugal: 5
• Argentina, Canada, India: 4
• Chile, Nigeria, Philippines: 3
• Angola, Australia, Colombia, Congo-Kinshasa, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam: 2
• Albania, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay: 1

So the Italian influence in the College of Cardinals is still great as is that of Europe in general, but this is balanced in the first place by the cardinals from North and South America, but also by the increasing number of far-flung countries from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Pope Francis aims to make the College of Cardinals, which not only elects his successor, but also works with him in the Roman Curia for the global church, to be a reflection of that world. With today’s consistory, he has taken another step in that direction.

Photo credit: Église catholique à Luxembourg – Kathoulesch Kierch zu Lëtzebuerg