Under current ecclesiastical law, as defined by the apostolic constitutionUniversi Dominici gregis, only cardinals who have not passed their 80th birthdays on the day on which the Holy See becomes vacant are eligible to take part in a papal conclave to elect a new pope.[3] The same apostolic constitution specifies that no more than 120 cardinal electors can take part in a conclave, but makes no provision for there being more than 120 eligible cardinals;[3]as of 2023[update] there had never been more at the time of a conclave, though it has happened frequently at other times. Cardinals may be created in pectore ('in the breast'), in which case their identities are not publicly revealed by the pope; they are not entitled to the privileges of a cardinal until their names are published. The creations of any such cardinals who have not been revealed at the pope's death or resignation automatically lapse.[1][4]
As of 31December2024,[update] there are 252 cardinals, 139 of whom are cardinal electors. The most recent consistory for the creation of cardinals was held on 7December 2024, when Pope Francis created 21 cardinals, including 20 cardinal electors.[5]Oswald Gracias was the most recent cardinal elector to turn 80, on 24December 2024; Christoph Schönborn will be the next cardinal elector to turn 80, on 22January 2025. The most recent death of a cardinal was that of Angelo Amato on 31 December 2024, at the age of 86.[6]
Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is divided into three orders, with formal precedence in the following sequence:[1]
Cardinal bishops(CB): the six cardinals who are assigned the titles of the seven suburbicarian dioceses in the vicinity of Rome by the pope,[a] plus a few other cardinals who have been exceptionally co-opted into the order,[9][10] as well as patriarchs who head one of the Eastern Catholic Churches.[8][11] The two most senior cardinal bishops, who are elected by the cardinal bishops from among themselves (excluding the Eastern Catholic patriarchs) and approved by the pope, are the dean and the vice dean,[1] currently Giovanni Battista Re and Leonardo Sandri, respectively; among the cardinal electors, the senior cardinal bishop is Pietro Parolin.[b]
Cardinal priests(CP): bishops typically in charge of dioceses around the world, as well as former cardinal deacons who have opted to be elevated to the order.[12] The most senior cardinal priest is the protopriest, currently Michael Michai Kitbunchu; among the cardinal electors, the senior cardinal priest is Vinko Puljić.[b]
Cardinal deacons(CD): bishops who work in the Roman Curia or the diplomatic service of the Holy See, and all other clergy, including priests who have been granted a dispensation not to be consecrated a bishop. They have the choice (Latin: optatio) of opting to become cardinal priests after having been cardinal deacons for ten years.[1][13] The most senior cardinal deacon is the protodeacon, currently Dominique Mamberti; he is also the senior cardinal deacon among the cardinal electors while the junior cardinal deacon among the electors is George Koovakad.[b]
For cardinal bishops (excluding the Eastern Catholic patriarchs), the dean is first in precedence, followed by the vice dean and then, in order of appointment as cardinal bishops, by the remainder. For cardinal bishops who are Eastern Catholic patriarchs, for cardinal priests and for cardinal deacons, precedence is determined by the date of the consistory in which they were created cardinals and then by the order in which they appeared in the official announcement or bulletin.
All cardinals listed are members of the Latin Church unless otherwise stated. Cardinals belonging to institutes of consecrated life or to societies of apostolic life are indicated by the relevant post-nominal letters. Cardinals in charge of dioceses are classified under the country where their diocese is located, although they may be citizens of a different country.
This list is complete and up to date as of 6January2025.[update]
*Cardinals ineligible to participate in a papal conclave
At present, 139 of 252 cardinals are eligible to participate in a papal conclave. The number of votes required to be elected pope with a two-thirds supermajority,[3][251] if all 139 cardinal electors were to participate(notwithstanding the maximum of 120 specified in Universi Dominici gregis), would be 93.
Cardinals by appointing pope
This table indicates the number of current cardinals created by each pope and belonging to each order of the college.
While most cardinals belong to the Latin Church, which encompasses the vast majority of Catholics, a small number of cardinals belong to one of the twenty-three autonomous (sui iuris) Eastern Catholic Churches. At present, there are eight Eastern Catholic cardinals, including six cardinal electors, belonging to seven particular churchessui iuris:
For the purposes of this article, countries are grouped into continents generally according to the regions of the United Nations geoscheme; for the region of the Americas, North America comprises the subregions of Northern America, Central America and the Caribbean, while South America comprises the remaining subregion of the same name.[252] Statistics for the global distribution of Catholics are taken from the 2021edition[update] of the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (Statistical Yearbook of the Church).[253]
At present, 94 countries are represented in the College of Cardinals, including 72 with at least one cardinal elector. The countries with the greatest numbers of cardinals are Italy (fifty-one), the United States (seventeen), and Spain (thirteen). Among the cardinal electors, the countries with the greatest numbers are Italy (seventeen), the United States (ten), and Brazil (seven).
↑ The dean of the College of Cardinals holds the title of the Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostiaex officio, in addition to his original one when first appointed a cardinal bishop.[1][7][8]
1 2 3 Among the cardinal electors, the senior cardinal bishop, the senior cardinal priest, the senior cardinal deacon and the junior cardinal deacon have specific roles in a papal conclave, such as presiding over the conclave itself (the senior cardinal bishop) or announcing the election of the pope (the senior cardinal deacon).[3]
↑ Schönborn was born to a Sudeten German family in Sudetenland, then part of Nazi Germany (in what is now the Czech Republic). Since his family was German, they were expelled to Austria a few months later, and he has served as a bishop there since 1991.
↑ Pujats was originally created a cardinal in pectore and formally revealed on 21February 2001.
↑ Brady's territorial jurisdiction as Archbishop of Armagh included a part of the United Kingdom.
↑ The Holy See's documentation gives Njue's date of birth as 1 January 1946, though for many years it said he was "born in 1944"[84] and used 31 December 1944 as his birthdate on its list of cardinal electors.[85] The change occurred sometime after 5 January 2024.[86]
↑ Ezzati was born in Italy. He emigrated to Chile as a young man and was ordained and served as a bishop there from 1996 to 2019.
↑ Lacunza Maestrojuán was born in Spain. He served as a bishop in Panama from 1985 to 2024.
↑ Lopez was born in Spain. He has served as a bishop in Morocco since 2017.
↑ Aós Braco was born in Spain. He served as a bishop in Chile from 2014 to 2023.
↑ Marengo was born in Italy. He has served as apostolic prefect in Mongolia since 2020.
↑ Bustillo was born in Spain. He has served as a bishop in France since 2021.
↑ Nemet was born in Serbia into an ethnic-Hungarian family and describes himself as Hungarian. He has worked in Serbia since 2008.
↑ Vesco was born in France. He has served as a bishop in Algeria since 2012.
↑ Mathieu was born in Belgium. He has served as a bishop in Iran since 2021.
↑ Bychok was born in Ukraine. He has served as a bishop in Australia since 2020.
↑ Farrell was born in Ireland. He was incardinated as a priest in the United States in 1984 and served as a bishop there from 2001 to 2016.
1 2 3 Granted dispensation not to receive episcopal consecration
↑ Becciu resigned the rights and privileges of a cardinal on 24September 2020, making him ineligible to participate in a conclave as an elector.[224][225]
↑ Czerny was born in Czechoslovakia (in what is now the Czech Republic). He moved to Canada as a child, and has served there and in the Roman Curia.
↑ Originally created a cardinal priest; appointed a cardinal bishop on 1October 2002[14]
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 19May 2018 and co-opted as a cardinal bishop on 28June 2018
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 29January 1996 and appointed a cardinal bishop on 25April 2005
↑ Originally created a cardinal priest; appointed a cardinal bishop on 10May 2008
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; appointed a cardinal bishop on 24February 2009
1 2 Originally created a cardinal priest; co-opted as a cardinal bishop on 28June 2018
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; co-opted as a cardinal bishop on 28June 2018
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; appointed a cardinal bishop on 1May 2020
↑ Originally created a cardinal priest; co-opted as a cardinal bishop on 1May 2020
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 29January 1996
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 1March 2008
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 20May 2006
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 21February 2011
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 12June 2014
↑ Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 20June 2016
1 2 3 4 Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 19May 2018
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 3May 2021
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 4March 2022
1 2 3 Originally created a cardinal deacon; became a cardinal priest on 1July 2024
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A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. They are titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, thereby serving as the primary advisors to the Bishop of Rome. Cardinals are created by the pope and typically hold the title for life. Collectively, they constitute the College of Cardinals. The most solemn responsibility of the cardinals is to elect a new pope in a conclave, almost always from among themselves, when the Holy See is vacant. During the period between a pope's death or resignation and the election of his successor, the day-to-day governance of the Holy See is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to participate in a conclave is limited to cardinals who have not reached the age of 80 years by the day the vacancy occurs. In addition, cardinals collectively participate in papal consistories, in which matters of importance to the Church are considered and new cardinals may be created. Cardinals of working age are also appointed to roles overseeing dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church.
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