Cardinals are senior members of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome. They are typically ordained bishops and generally hold important roles within the church, such as leading prominent archdioceses or heading dicasteries within the Roman Curia. Cardinals are chosen by the pope and formally created in a consistory, and one of their foremost duties is the election of a new pope– invariably from among their number, although not strictly a requirement– when the Holy See is vacant (sede vacante), following the death or resignation of a pope. Collectively, they constitute the College of Cardinals.[1][2]
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 cardinals may take part in a conclave, but makes no provision for there being more than 120 eligible cardinal electors,[3] a number that has often been exceeded.[4] Cardinals may be created in pectore ('in the breast'), in which case the pope does not reveal their identities; they are not entitled to the privileges of a cardinal until their names are published by the pope. The creations of any such cardinals whose names have not been revealed before the pope's death or resignation automatically lapse.[1][5]
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,[10][11] as well as patriarchs who head one of the Eastern Catholic Churches.[9][12] 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.[13] 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 before becoming a cardinal. They have the choice (Latin: optatio) of opting to become cardinal priests after having been cardinal deacons for ten years.[1][14] The most senior cardinal deacon is the protodeacon, currently Dominique Mamberti; he is also the senior cardinal deacon among the cardinal electors. 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 in which their diocese is located, although they may be citizens of a different country.
This list is complete and up to date as of 6February2025.[update]
*Cardinals ineligible to participate in a papal conclave
At present, 138 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 138 cardinal electors were to participate(notwithstanding the maximum of 120 specified in Universi Dominici gregis), would be 92.
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 71 with at least one cardinal elector. The countries with the greatest numbers of cardinals are Italy (51), the United States (17), and Spain (13). Among the cardinal electors, the countries with the greatest numbers are Italy (17), the United States (10), and Brazil (7).
↑ 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][8][9]
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 the Sudetenland (in the present-day Czech Republic), then part of Nazi Germany. His family was later expelled from Czechoslovakia to Austria, and he served as a bishop there from 1991 to 2025.
↑ 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 Press Office's documentation gives Njue's date of birth as 1January 1946, but previously stated that he was "born in 1944"[86] and used 31December 1944 as his date of birth on its list of cardinal electors.[87]
↑ Ezzati was born in Italy, emigrated to Chile as a young man, and served as a bishop there from 1996 to 2019.
↑ Lacunza Maestrojuán was born in Spain and served as a bishop in Panama from 1985 to 2024.
↑ Lopez was born in Spain and has served as a bishop in Morocco since 2017.
↑ Aós Braco was born in Spain and served as a bishop in Chile from 2014 to 2023.
↑ Marengo was born in Italy and has served as a bishop in Mongolia since 2020.
↑ Bustillo was born in Spain and has served as a bishop in France since 2021.
↑ Nemet was born in Serbia into an ethnically Hungarian family and describes himself as Hungarian. He has worked in Serbia since 2008.
↑ Vesco was born in France and has served as a bishop in Algeria since 2012.
↑ Mathieu was born in Belgium and has served as a bishop in Iran since 2021.
↑ Bychok was born in Ukraine and has served as a bishop in Australia since 2020.
↑ Farrell was born in Ireland, 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.[225][226]
↑ Czerny was born in Czechoslovakia (in the present-day Czech Republic) and emigrated to Canada as a child.
↑ Originally created a cardinal priest; appointed a cardinal bishop on 1October 2002[15]
↑ 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; appointed a cardinal bishop on 7January 2025
↑ 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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