VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Sunday introduced he’ll appoint 21 new cardinals of the worldwide Catholic Church, in an surprising push to affect the highly effective group of churchmen that may in the future select his successor.
The ceremony to put in the brand new appointees, generally known as a consistory, shall be held on December 8, the 87-year-old pope introduced throughout his weekly noon-time prayer with pilgrims and vacationers in St. Peter’s Sq..
It is going to be the tenth consistory known as by the pope since his election 11 years in the past as the primary pontiff from Latin America.
Though popes might select to nominate cardinals at any time, Francis’s resolution to make new appointments now comes as one thing of a shock.
As of the pope’s announcement there have been 122 cardinals below 80 and in a position to vote in a future conclave. Church regulation technically limits the variety of such cardinals to 120, however latest popes have ceaselessly gone above that quantity.
Two of the cardinals at the moment in a position to vote in a conclave will age out by the tip of the 12 months. An extra 13 will cross the brink by the tip of 2025.
All cardinals, no matter their age, are allowed to participate in pre-conclave conferences, generally known as Normal Congregations, giving them a say in the kind of individual they suppose the youthful cardinals ought to select.
Cardinals rank second solely to the pope within the Church hierarchy and function his closest advisers. Resulting from their historic energy and affect, they’re nonetheless known as the princes of the Church, though Francis has informed them to not dwell like royalty and to be near the poor.
