At the conclusion of his address after the recitation of the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis announced the names of 16 new cardinals who will take part in the Consistory in February. The Holy Father also raised 3 retired archbishops to the dignity of Cardinal for their service to the Church.
“As has already been announced, on February 22, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, I will have the joy of holding a consistory, during which I will name 16 new cardinals, who – belonging to 12 nations from every corner of the world – represent the profound ecclesial relationship between the Church of Rome and the other Church’s dispersed throughout the world,” the Pope told the faithful gathered.
The following prelates will be elevated to the College of Cardinals: Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State; Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod; Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Archbishop Emeritus of Regensburg & Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Archbishop Vincent Gerard Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster (Great Britain); Archbishop Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano, Archbishop of Managua (Nicaragua), Archbishop Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec (Canada); Archbishop Jean-Pierre Kutwa, Archbishop of Abidjan (Ivory Coast); Archbishop Orani João Tempesta, O.Cist., Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Archbishop Gualtiero Bassetti, Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve (Italy); Archbishop Mario Aurelio Poli, Archbishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina); Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo jung, Archbishop of Seoul (Korea); Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, S.D.B., Archbishop of Santiago de Chile (Chile); Archbishop Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso); Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I., Archbishop of Cotabato (Philippines); Archbishop Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes (Haiti).
The retired prelates who were elevated to dignity of Cardinal are: Archbishop Loris Francesco Capovilla, Titular Archbishop of Mesembria; Archbishop Fernando Sebastián Aguilar, Archbishop Emeritus of Pamplona, and Archbishop Kelvin Edward Felix, Archbishop Emeritus of Castries, in the Antilles.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office noted that the cardinal electors chosen are a “well distributed” group from across the globe, Most notably, he said in a statement, “the choice of Cardinals of Burkina Faso and Haiti shows concern for people struck by poverty.”
Cardinalate ‘Is Not a Promotion’
In a letter addressed to the newly elevated prelates, the Holy Father sent his greeting as well as asking their help “in my service to the Universal Church.”
“The Cardinalate does not signify a promotion, or an honor, or a decoration. It is simply a service that calls for enlarging one’s vision and widening one’s heart,” the Pope said. Calling on them to accept the designation with humility, the Holy Father told the newly appointed Cardinals to also receive the appointment in the spirit of austerity, sobriety and poverty.
Concluding his letter, Pope Francis asked for the new cardinals’ prayers while saying that he remains at their disposition. (J.A.E.)
