The archbishop of Cape Town, Stephen Brislin, has been selected among 21 other churchmen across the globe to become cardinal to Pope Francis.
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Cardinals rank second to the pope in the church hierarchy and serve as his closest advisers.
The new Cardinals hail from America, Italy, Argentina, Switzerland, South Africa, Spain, Colombia, South Sudan, Hong Kong, Poland, Malaysia, Tanzania, and Portugal. Eighteen of them will form part of an eventual secret conclave from which the next pope will be chosen. This group is known as cardinal electors. Three of the new cardinals are aged 80 and older and are too old to vote in a conclave. They were named as a means to thank them for their long service to the church.
Furthermore, all cardinals – regardless of age – are allowed to participate in pre-conclave meetings, also known as General Congregations. This gives them a say in the type of person they deem fit for younger cardinals to choose.
Brislin and the others will be sworn in on 30 September during a ceremony known as a consistory – the ninth called by the pope since his election a decade ago as the first pontiff from Latin America, Times Live reports.
After this ceremony, the total number of cardinal electors will be up to 137, of which Francis himself chose 73%. Whether he names more will depend on his longevity. Last month, he spent nine days in hospital after undergoing surgery for an abdominal hernia. However, he is recovering well and plans to visit Portugal in August and Mongolia in September.
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Here is the full list of cardinal electors under the age of 80:
- Archbishop Robert Prevost, American Vatican official, head of the Dicastery for Bishops;
- Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Italian, Vatican official, head of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches;
- Archbishop Víctor Fernández, Argentine, Vatican official, head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith;
- Archbishop Emil Tscherrig, Swiss, Vatican ambassador to Italy;
- Archbishop Christophe Pierre, French, Vatican ambassador to the US;
- Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Italian, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem;
- Archbishop Stephen Brislin, South African, Archbishop of Cape Town;
- Archbishop Ángel Rossi, Argentine, Archbishop of Córdoba;
- Archbishop Luis Aparicio, Colombian, Archbishop of Bogotá;
- Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś, Polish, Archbishop of Lodz;
- Archbishop Stephen Mulla, Sudanese, Archbishop of Juba, South Sudan;
- Archbishop José Cano, Spanish, Archbishop of Madrid;
- Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, Tanzanian, Archbishop of Tabora;
- Bishop Sebastian Francis, Malaysian, Bishop of Penang;
- Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-Yan, Bishop of Hong Kong;
- Archbishop François-Xavier Bustillo, Spanish-French, Bishop of Ajaccio, Corsica;
- Bishop Américo Alves Aguiar, Portuguese, Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon;
- Father Ángel Fernández Artime, Spanish, head of the Salesian order.
These are over the age of 80 and not eligible to enter a conclave:
- Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Italian, former Vatican diplomat;
- Archbishop Diego Padrón Sánchez, Venezuelan, Archbishop Emeritus of Cumaná;
- Father Luis Dri, Argentine priest.
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Picture: Dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican / Michelle Reeves / Pexels