Pope Francis announced on Sunday, October 6, the appointment of twenty-one new cardinals from around the world. “I am happy to announce that on December 8 I will hold a consistory for the appointment of new cardinals”he declared at the end of the Angelus prayer. “Its origin expresses the universality of the Church and (…) manifests the indissoluble link between the see of Peter [le Vatican] and the particular Churches in the world »he added.
The Vatican later published the list of the new cardinals’ names and their origins. Italy, as a country, has the most with four new cardinals, but only three will be able to vote in the next conclave. The fourth, born in 1925, has already exceeded the age limit (80 years) to elect Pope.
Five of the new cardinals come from five Latin American countries (Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile and Brazil), while the others come from countries as diverse as Indonesia, Japan, Serbia, Canada, the Philippines, India, Belgium and Ukraine. The cardinal of the latter country, Mykola Bychok, born in Ternopil, currently archbishop of Melbourne (Australia) and 44 years old, will be the youngest of the new cardinals.
France is represented by the Archbishop of Algiers, Jean-Paul Vesco, according to the Vatican list.
