The Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Pope Francis announced yesterday (Sunday, October 6) that he will elevate 21 new cardinals during a consistory scheduled for December 8.
This announcement was made from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square following the recitation of the Angelus prayer on October 6.
Among the new cardinals are prominent archbishops from major cities around the world, including Tehran, Tokyo, and Toronto. The full list of cardinals-elect includes:
Archbishop Frank Leo – Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, Canada
Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, SVDÂ – Metropolitan Archbishop of Tokyo, Japan
Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv – Archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, a Belgian missionary bishop in Iran
Bishop Mykola Bycok, CSsRÂ – Eparch of Sts. Peter and Paul of Melbourne, representing the Ukrainian community in Australia
Father Timothy Radcliffe, OPÂ – Theologian from the United Kingdom
Father Fabio Baggio, CSÂ – Undersecretary for the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, Italy
Monsignor George Jacob Koovakad – Official of the Secretariat of State and organizer of papal trips, India
Bishop Baldassare Reina – Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, Italy
Archbishop Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio – Metropolitan Archbishop of Lima, Peru
Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur, OFMÂ – Bishop of Bogor, Indonesia
Archbishop Vicente Bokalic Iglic – Archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina
Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFMÂ – Metropolitan Archbishop of Guayaquil, Ecuador
Archbishop Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib – Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, Chile
Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David – Bishop of Kalookan, Philippines
Archbishop Laszlo Nemet, SVDÂ – Metropolitan Archbishop of Belgrade, Serbia
Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFMÂ – Metropolitan Archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil
Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo – Metropolitan Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Archbishop Jean-Paul Vesco, OPÂ – Metropolitan Archbishop of Algiers, Algeria
Archbishop Roberto Repole – Metropolitan Archbishop of Turin, Italy
Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas – Coadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Lithuania
Notably, one of the cardinals-elect, Archbishop Angelo Acerbi, is already over 80 years old and will not be eligible to vote in future papal elections.
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has appointed a total of 142 cardinals from 70 countries across nine consistories.
The last consistory took place on September 30, 2023, during which new cardinals included Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Stephen Chow from Hong Kong, and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
As of the upcoming December consistory, the College of Cardinals will have 141 electors, 111 of whom (or 79%) were appointed by Pope Francis, following the recent turnover of 15 cardinals who have reached the age of 80 since the last consistory, thereby losing their voting rights in future elections.
