by John L. Allen Jr.
Pope Benedict XVI today announced the names of 22 new cardinals, including 18 under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote for the next pope. The list includes two Americans: Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, and Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the former archbishop of Baltimore.
The consistory, the event in which these nominees will formally enter the College of Cardinals, is set for Rome on Feb. 18-19.
Once again, Benedict’s choices are top-heavy with Italians (seven of the 18 voting cardinals), Vatican officials (ten) and Europeans (twelve). Three also come from North America, including Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto along with Dolan and O’Brien.
Only three of the new cardinals come from outside the West: João Bráz de Aviz, a Brazilian who heads the Vatican office for religious life; John Tong Hon, bishop of Hong Kong; and George Alencherry, archbishop of the Syro-Malabar church in India.
The following is the complete list of new cardinals announced today by the pontiff, during his Angelus address marking the Feast of the Epiphany.
18 new cardinal electors
1.tFernando Filoni (Italian), Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
2.tManuel Monteiro de Castro (Portuguese), Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary
3.tSantos Abril y Castelló (Spanish) , Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
4.tAntonio Maria Vegliò (Italian), President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Refugees
5.tGiuseppe Bertello (Italian), President of the Government of the Vatican City State
6.tFrancesco Coccopalmerio (Italian), President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
7.tJoão Bráz de Aviz (Brazilian), Prefect of the Congregation for Religious
8.tEdwin O’Brien (American), Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
9.tDomenico Calcagno (Italian), President of the Apostolic Patrimony of the Holy See
10.tGiuseppe Versaldi (Italian), President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
11.tGeorge Alencherry (Indian), Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church in India
12.tThomas Collins (Canadian), Archbishop of Toronto
13.tDominik Duka (Czech), Archbishop of Prague
14.tWim Eijk (Dutch), Archbishop of Utrecht
15.tGiuseppe Bettori (Italian), Archbishop of Florence
16.tTimothy Dolan (American), Archbishop of New York
17.tRainer Maria Woelki (German), Archbishop of Berlin
18.tJohn Tong Hon (Chinese), Bishop of Hong Kong
In keeping with papal custom, Benedict XVI also named four new cardinals who are already over 80 years old, and hence ineligible to take part in a future conclave. These are often called "honorary" appointments, used to recognize lifelong service to the church in some capacity.
Four honorary cardinals:
1.tArchbishop Lucian Mure?an, Major Archbishop of F?g?ra? ?i Alba Iulia (Romanian)
2.tMonsignor Julien Ries (Belgian)
3.tAugustinian Fr. Prosper Grech (Maltese)
4.tJesuit Fr. Karl Becker (German)
Today’s appointments bring the total number of voting-age cardinals to 126, six more than the ceiling of 120 established by Pope Paul VI. That number should drop back down to 120 on July 26, when American Cardinal James Francis Stafford turns 80; five more cardinals will have crossed the threshold of 80 by that stage.
In terms of the Americans, the appointment of Dolan and O’Brien brings the compliment of American electors back up to 11, the same number eligible to participate in the conclave of April 2005 that elected Benedict XVI. That number will drop back down to nine by July, however, as both Stafford and retired Cardinal Edward Egan of New York will have turned 80.
Including those already over 80, the total number of American cardinals after the February consistory will rise to 18. The total number of cardinals in the world, including voting and non-voting cardinals, will be 214.
In terms of notable omissions, neither the new Archbishop of Manila in the Philippines, Luis Antonio Tagle, nor the Archbishop of Westminster in the U.K., Vincent Nichols, were on the list. In both cases, the informal rule that a new cardinal is not created until the retired cardinal of that archdiocese turns 80 may have been in force, as both of the previous incumbents won’t pass the 80 threshold until August.
Strikingly, Benedict XVI named Dolan a cardinal despite the fact that his predecessor, Egan, won’t turn 80 until April 2.
There are at least two other Americans virtually certain to become cardinals at some point, Archbishops Jose Gomez of Los Angeles and Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. In both cases, however, the informal rule cited above suggests they may have to wait a while -- retired Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia is just 76, and retired Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles is 75.
