Pope To Elevate 13 New Cardinals Including First African American Cardinal

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is preparing to formally elevate 13 new cardinals, including the first African-American to receive the rank, in a ceremony marked in every way by the coronavirus pandemic: Two of the cardinals stayed home, the rest eschewed the usual celebrations and St.

Nine are under age 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope, further solidifying the majority of Francis-appointed prelates in the College of Cardinals.

With Saturday’s new cardinals, Francis has named 73 of the 128 voting-age cardinals, compared to 39 for Pope Benedict XVI and 16 for St.

The geographical makeup of the College of Cardinals has also shifted under Francis away from Europe, though Europe remains the greatest voting bloc with 53 electors.

But Italy still leads the college with more cardinals than any other country, with 22 voting-age prelates.

Francis has continued the trend of naming cardinals from the “peripheries” of the Catholic Church: Brunei got its first-ever cardinal with the Vatican’s ambassador to the country, Cardinal-designate Cornelius Sim.