Pope Francis to create 13 new Catholic cardinals in October

Pope Francis said yesterday he will create 13 new Catholic cardinals next month, including some from the developing world and a Vatican expert on aiding migrants and refugees. Francis made the surprise announcement during his weekly Angelus, and said they would be appointed on October 5.

The appointments come as the Argentine pontiff gradually shapes a less European college of cardinals. The newcomers hail from North America, Central America, Africa, Europe and Asia, and Francis says “their origin expresses the missionary vocation of the Church”. The new “princes” of the Church, who will be appointed at a special ceremony known as a consistory, come from countries including Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Morocco.

Cardinals under age 80 are able to take part in the secret conclaves to elect the head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, who is chosen from among them. As well as having that key role, cardinals often also hold the highest administrative offices in the church. Among those named was Archbishop Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, who the Vatican’s consultant to the Communications secretariat James Martin said was “a great supporter of LGBT Catholics”.

The Tablet’s Vatican expert Christopher Lamb said the pope’s nominations “reflect his priority to build bridges with other religions... and to support migrants”. Michael Czerny, a native of Czechoslovakia who emigrated to Canada as a child, was the only non-bishop of the thirteen chosen, Vatican specialist Joshua McElwee said in National Catholic Reporter. Czerny is one of two co-secretaries of the Migrants and Refugees section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. 

Those set to receive a cardinal’s red hat also include Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, an English expert on Christian-Muslim relations, and Spain’s Archbishop Miguel Ayuso Guixot, who leads the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. The October ceremony will be Francis’ sixth consistory since his election as pontiff in March 2013 and will bring the number of so-called “cardinal electors” to 128.