Saturday consistory: who are the new cardinals?

On Saturday Pope Francis will create 20 new cardinals. Once again the selected clergymen come from different corners of the world. From next Monday they will take part in the Cardinal Assembly, during which Francis wants to speak about the new Constitution preached the Gospel.

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It is a colorful mix of new cardinals what Pope Francis announced at his Regina Coeli last May 29. No more surprising is the appointment of the three top collaborators of the Curia Lazarus You Heung-sik, Fernando Vergez Alzaga and Arthur Roche for divine service and the order of the sacraments (from May 27, 2021).

But it was important for the pope to elevate numerous deserving clergymen from the universal church to the status of cardinal. Among the nominees are bishops, archbishops and theologians of France, Nigeria, India, Brazil, East Timor, the United States, Paraguay, Singapore, Belgium, Italy and Mongolia.

A brief introduction to the cardinals

Arthur Roche: The Englishman will lead the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on May 27, 2021. Born in Batley Carr on March 6, 1960, he was first Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, then Coadjutor and then Bishop of Leeds before being elected by Benedict XVI in 2012. he was called to the Congregation for Worship as secretary, of which he then hired himself in 2021.

Lazarus You Heung-sik: The South Korean was born on November 17, 1951 in Nonsan-gun Chungnam. Initially a professor of theology, John Paul II appointed him coadjutor and then bishop in Daejeon. In this function he was able to receive Pope Francis during his trip to Korea in 2014. He has been Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy since 11 June 2021.

Fernando Vergez Alzaga LC: The Legionary of Christ was born on March 1, 1945 in Salamanca (Spain). Since 1972 he has held various positions at the Curia, including that of head of office at the Administration of Vatican Assets and head of Vatican telecommunications. Since 2013 he has been secretary of the Vatican Governorate, that is the authority responsible for the administration of the Vatican state. In October 2021 he succeeded Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello at the head of the governorate.

Jean-Marc Aveline: The Metropolitan Archbishop of Marseille in France was born on December 26, 1958 in Sidi Bel Abbes in Algeria and grew up in Marseille. He has been auxiliary bishop of his hometown since 2013 and since 2019 he has succeeded Georges Pointier, former president of the French Bishops’ Conference, as archbishop.

Peter Okpaleke he is Bishop of Ekwulobia in Nigeria. Born on March 1, 1963, he returned to his hometown after studying in Rome. There he took over at the request of Benedict XVI. 2012 at the head of the diocese of Ahira, a position from which he was relieved in 2018 at his own request. In 2020, Pope Francis appointed him the first bishop of the diocese of Ekwulobia.

The Franciscan Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, born November 6, 1950 in Forquilinha, Brazil, is a central figure for the Amazon region and for many years he was secretary of the largest bishops’ conference in the world. In November 2019, a few weeks after the conclusion of the Amazon Synod in the Vatican, Pope Francis appointed him archbishop of Manaus in the Brazilian rainforest. Since 2022 he has been vice-president of the newly formed Conference of the Church of the Amazon.

It comes from India Filipe Neri Antonio Sebastião by Rosario Ferrão. Born in Aldona on January 20, 1953, he has been Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa and Damao since 2006. Since 2019 he has also been President of the Indian Bishops’ Conference. As archbishop of his diocese, he bears the honorary title of Patriarch of the East Indies and Primate of the East.

Robert Walter McElroy was born on February 5, 1954 in San Francisco. He has been Bishop of San Diego since March 3, 2015. Among other things, he emerged in the long debate on the administration of communion to politicians. According to McElroy in 2005, the denial of communion is a “punishment for positions” of those affected, but is accompanied by a lack of “pastoral care”.

Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, SDB: The Salesian was born on November 27, 1967 in Venilale in East Timor. In 2019 Pope Francis established the ecclesiastical province of East Timor and appointed Dili a metropolitan bishopric, with Do Carmo Da Silva becoming its first metropolitan archbishop. He has led the diocese since 2016. Due to the corona pandemic, on 29 June 2020 he was unable to receive the pallium from the Pope.

Oscar Cantoni: The Italian was born in Lenno on 1 September 1950 and has been Bishop of Como since 4 October 2016. Previously he had been Bishop of Crema since 2005 at the request of John Paul II. Particularly active in the pastoral care of vocations, before being appointed bishop he was episcopal vicar for the clergy in his diocese of Como.

Another Indian is on the pope’s list Antonio Poola. The Archbishop of Hyderabad (born November 15, 1961 in Poluru) has been in office since November 19, 2020.

He will go to Brazil again Paolo Cezar Costa. Born in Valenca on 20 July 1967, he has been auxiliary bishop of Rio de Janeiro since 2010. After a period as bishop in the diocese of Sao Carlos since 2016, Pope Francis appointed him metropolitan archbishop of the diocese of the capital on 21 October 2020.

Richard Kuuia Baawobr he comes from Ghana, where he was born in Nandom on June 21, 1959. After studying in Friborg and London, Switzerland, he took up various positions in Congo and Tanzania. In 1981 he joined the Missionaries of Africa (“White Fathers”) and was elected Superior General in 2010. He has been Bishop of Wa since 2016.

William Goh Seng Chye he is Archbishop of Singapore. Born in Singapore on June 25, 1957, he is only the second indigenous bishop of the diocese. From 2012 he was first coadjutor, then from 20 May 2013 also archbishop in Singapore.

Adalberto Martinez Flores he is Metropolitan Archbishop of Asuncion in Paraguay. Martínez Flores, born on 8 July 1951 in the same city, has been in office since 17 February 2022.

Italian Giorgio Marengo was born on 7 June 1974 and therefore the youngest of the new cardinals – but also in the future college of cardinals in general. Marengo has been working as Apostolic Prefect in Mongolia, more precisely in the capital Ulanbaatar, from 2 April 2020.

Honor to deserving clergymen

In addition to the 16 new cardinals, who will also be able to elect the next pope in a future consistory, Francis wants to include some deserving clergymen without the right to vote in the college: they are Jorge Enrique Jimenez Carvajal of Cartagena in Colombia, Arrigo Miglio of Cagliari in Sardinia, the Italian theologian and Jesuit Gianfranco Ghirlanda, and Fortunato Frezza, canon of St. Peter’s Basilica. Originally, the Pope also appointed the Belgian bishop Luc van Looy among the new cardinals of over 80 years. However, in light of the allegations about handling abuse cases in his former Ghent diocese, he had given up on the investigation.

An unusual date

The end of August is not a traditional date for consistories (which are usually held in February, June or November). But the pope himself had provided an explanation for his decision: in the days following the consistory a meeting of all the cardinals of the universal Church would be held to deliberate on the new apostolic constitution for the Roman Curia, to preach the Gospel. The “Vatican Constitution” entered into force on Pentecost Sunday, June 5th. The consistory for the creation of new cardinals on Saturday 27 August thus precedes the cardinals meeting scheduled for Monday 29 August and Tuesday 30 August, so that the new cardinals can already participate in the deliberations.

The New College of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals today is made up of 206 cardinals, of which 116 voters And 90 non-voters I am. Then, on August 27, the number of cardinals will be total 226 arise from which 132 he will be able to elect the future Pope, while the rest will be over 80 years old.

50 of the cardinals then represented in the College of Cardinals were John Paul II. used, eleven of them are still eligible to vote. 64 cardinals came from Pope Benedict XVI. created (38 of them have the right to vote). From 112 onwards Pope francesco 83 cardinals still alive can therefore vote.

Geographically, starting from August 27, the cardinals will be distributed as follows:

Europe: 106 cardinals, of whom 54 are electors,

America: 60 cardinals, including 38 electors,

Asia: 30 cardinals, including 20 electors,

Africa: 27 cardinals, including 17 electors,

Oceania: 5 cardinals, of which three are electors.

(Vatican news – cs)

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