Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including Timothy Radcliffe, O.P.

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals on the afternoon of Dec. 7, including 20 who will be eligible to vote in the next conclave to elect his successor. Among them are Frank Leo, archbishop of Toronto, Canada; Timothy Radcliffe, former master of the Dominicans from England; George Jacob Koovakad, the Indian-born organizer of papal trips; and Dominique Joseph Mathieu, the Belgian-born bishop of Teheran-Ispahan, Iran, and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop Mykola Bychok, C.Ss.R., who is living in Melbourne.

This will be Pope Francis’ tenth consistory, since becoming pope in March 2013. The cardinals-elect come from 17 countries and six continents. Five of the new cardinals come from Latin America, three from Asia, eight from Europe (including four from Italy), two from Africa.

On Dec. 7, the College of Cardinals will have 253 members from and 90 countries. However, only 140 of these cardinals are currently under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in the next conclave.

With the addition of the 20 new electors on Dec. 7, Pope Francis will bring the total number of cardinals with the right to vote in a papal conclave to 140. Of these, six will have been created by John Paul II, 24 by Benedict XVI and 110 by Francis. This means that Francis will have appointed almost 79 percent of the cardinal electors. A candidate needs two-thirds of the votes cast to be elected pope.

If a conclave were to take place immediately after the Dec. 7 consistory, the geographical breakdown of the 140 electors would be as follows: Europe would have 56 electors, including 17 Italians; North America would have 14 (10 from the United States and four from Canada); Latin America would have 24; Africa would have 18; Asia would have 25; and Oceania would have three electors.   

The figures change, however, as cardinals reach the age of 80.  In fact between Dec. 7, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2025, 14 more cardinals will have turned 80 and lost the right to vote in a conclave. It is possible that Francis will hold another consistory to make more cardinals at the end of the Jubilee Year.

Since becoming pope, Francis has employed several criteria in his selection of cardinals. One of the primary focuses is universality, aimed at including as many countries as possible. He emphasizes special attention to the peripheries and nations that have never had a cardinal before, as well as those facing conflict or extreme poverty.

Another significant criterion is to reduce the number of Europeans, and specifically Italians in the College of Cardinals. He has made notable progress in this area, lowering the number of Italians from 28 in the 2013 conclave to 16 on Dec. 8, and decreasing the number of Europeans from 60 in the 2013 conclave to 56 on Dec. 8.

Francis has chosen to break with the tradition—often exaggerated in Italy—whereby bishops of certain prominent sees—usually those in large cities—typically receive the red hat automatically. He has moved away from this practice in Italy, the United States, and several other regions, reflecting a commitment to a more equitable approach in selecting cardinals.

The new cardinals-elect are:

1. Angelo Acerbi, (Italy), Apostolic Nuncio. (He is not a cardinal-elector as he was born in 1925.)
2. Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattassoglio, archbishop of Lima (Peru).
3. Vicente Bokalic Iglic, C.M., archbishop of Santiago del Estero (Primate of Argentina).
4. Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, O.F.M., archbishop of Guayaquil (Ecuador).
5. Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, archbishop of Santiago de Chile (Chile).
6. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D., archbishop of Tokyo (Japan).
7. Pablo Virgilio Siongco David, bishop of Kalookan (Philippines).
8. Ladislav Nemet, S.V.D., archbishop of Beograd -Smederevo, (Serbia).
9. Jaime Spengler, O.F.M., archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brazil).
10. Ignace Bessi Dogbo, archbishop of Abidjan (Ivory Coast). (Born in France)
11. Jean-Paul Vesco, O.P., archbishop of Alger (Algeria).
12. Dominique Joseph Mathieu, O.F.M. Conv., archbishop of Teheran-Ispahan (Iran). (Born in Belgium)
13. Roberto Repole, archbishop of Turin (Italia).
14. Baldassare Reina, auxiliary bishop of Rome, now becomes vicar-general.
15. Francis Leo, archbishop of Toronto (Canada).
16. Rolandas Makrickas (Lithuania), coadjutor archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Mary Major.
17. Mykola Bychok, C.Ss.R. (Ukraine), bishop of the Eparchy Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne.
18. Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe, O.P., theologian
19. Fabio Baggio, C.S., under-secretary for the section of migrants and refugees at the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.
20. George Jacob Koovakad (India), official of the Secretariat of State, organizer of the papal journeys.
21.  Domenico Battaglia, 61, archbishop of Naples.

This article has been updated.