Official announcement from the Vatican or news reports

Pope Francis Appoints 21 New Cardinals, Exceeds Elector Limit at Tenth Consistory

Dec 7, 2024, 05:11 PM

On Saturday, December 7, Pope Francis appointed 21 new cardinals from five continents in a ceremony at the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica, marking his tenth consistory. The new cardinals include bishops from Algiers, Tehran, Tokyo, Abidjan, and other regions, reflecting the Pope's efforts to diversify the leadership of the Catholic Church and break with tradition. Among the newly appointed cardinals are Dom Jaime Spengler, the Archbishop of Porto Alegre and president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), who is the only Brazilian appointed and described the appointment as a 'responsibility and privilege'; Bishop Pablo Virgilio 'Ambo' David of the Philippines, the tenth Filipino cardinal; Archbishop Ladislav Nemet of Serbia, a former chaplain at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City; and Mykola Bychok, an Australia-based Ukrainian missionary. Pope Francis, who will turn 88 soon, continues to shape the future of the Church by appointing cardinals who align with his reform agenda, urging them to be 'builders of unity' and to 'go beyond the corrosive competition of this world'. With this consistory, he has now appointed 110 of the 140 cardinal electors under the age of 80, exceeding the limit of 120 established by Paul VI and confirmed by John Paul II, further consolidating his influence on the future papal election. The ceremony was notable for the Pope appearing with a bruise on his chin, which the Vatican attributed to a minor fall when he bumped his chin on a bedside table. Despite the injury, Pope Francis presided over the ceremony without apparent issues. Five of the new cardinals are Italian, maintaining Italy's significant representation in the College of Cardinals.