On Sunday, July 9, Pope Francis announced the creation of 21 new cardinals. The consistory is taking place on September 30.
Newsroom (09/07/2023 10:40, Gaudium Press) On September 30, the College of Cardinals will have 21 new members. The announcement was made by Pope Francis at the end of his greeting after the Angelus prayer today in St. Peter’s Square.
“Their provenance expresses the universality of the Church, which continues to proclaim the merciful love of God to all people on earth. Moreover, the inclusion of new cardinals in the Diocese of Rome demonstrates the inseparable bond between the See of Peter and the particular Churches scattered throughout the world.”
The pope read the list of new cardinals, including the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Bishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Also significant is the choice of the bishop of Hong Kong (China), Stephen Sau-yan Chow who – like Francis, belongs to the Jesuit order while the Vatican seems very concerned regarding the situation of Catholics in China.
The future Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Argentine Víctor Manuel Fernández, will also be accepted into the College of Cardinals.
Bp. Fernández will take office in September. Along with him, two other leaders of the Curia will receive the red hat: the Dicastery prefects for Bishops and Oriental Churches, Robert Francis Prevost and Claudio Gugerotti, respectively.
Two archbishops and one religious “who have distinguished themselves for their service to the Church” and who will not be able to vote in the conclave because they are more than 80 years old will be accepted in the College of Cardinals: Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Apostolic nuncio, age 82; Archbishop Diego Rafael Padrón Sánchez, Archbishop Emeritus of Cumaná (Venezuela), age 84; and Father Luis Pascual Dri, Capuchin, confessor of the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in Buenos Aires (Argentina), age 96.
If a conclave to elect a new pope occurred immediately after the September 30 consistory, 137 cardinals would be electors. According to the Reuters news agency, 73% of the Cardinal-electors have been named by Pope Francis.
Here are the names of the new Cardinals:
1 – Archbishop Robert Francis PREVOST, O.S.A. (USA), Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops
2 – Monsignor Claudio GUGEROTTI (Italy), Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches
3 – Bishop Víctor Manuel FERNÁNDEZ (Argentina), Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
4 – Monsignor Emil Paul TSCHERRIG (Switzerland), Apostolic Nuncio
5 – Archbishop Christophe Louis Yves Georges PIERRE (France), Apostolic Nuncio
6 – Archbishop Pierbattista PIZZABALLA (Italy), Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
7 – Most Rev. Stephen BRISLIN, Archbishop of Cape Town (South Africa)
8 – Most Rev. Ángel Sixto ROSSI, S.J., Archbishop of Cordoba (Argentina)
9 – Most Rev. Luis José RUEDA APARICIO, Archbishop of Bogotá (Colombia)
10 – Archbishop Grzegorz RYŚ of Łódź (Poland)
11 – Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin MULLA, of Juba (South Sudan)
12 – Archbishop José COBO CANO of Madrid (Spain)
13 – Most Rev. Protase RUGAMBWA, Coadjutor Archbishop of Tabora (Tanzania)
14 – Most Rev. Sebastian FRANCIS, Bishop of Penang (Malaysia)
15 – Most Rev. Stephen CHOW SAU-YAN, S.J., Bishop of Hong Kong
16 – Most Rev.François-Xavier BUSTILLO, O.F.M. Conv., Bishop of Ajaccio (France)
17 – Most Rev. Américo Manuel ALVES AGUIAR, Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon (Portugal)
18 – Rev. Ángel FERNÁNDEZ ARTIME, s.d.b., Rector Major of the Salesians.
19 – Most Rev. Agostino MARCHETTO (Italy), Apostolic Nuncio
20 – Most Rev. Diego Rafael PADRÓN SÁNCHEZ, Emeritus Archbishop of Cumaná (Venezuela)
21 – Fr. Luis Pascual DRI, OFM Cap., confessor at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj with files from
