Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, the only one who chose Pope Leo XIV in May without being bishop, celebrates this Friday, August 22, 80 years.
In the Catholic Church the Pope is the one who creates the cardinals. While they are usually bishops, this is not an indispensable requirement. Such is the case of Cardinal Radcliffe, a Dominican and theologian priest who was created Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2024.
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What is a bishop in the Catholic Church?
A Catholic bishop is a successor of the apostles. He is a church leader who “has the fullness of the priesthood to govern a diocese as his main pastor, in due submission to the primacy of the Pope,” explains the Catholic encyclopedia.
He DICASTERY FOR BISKS In the Vatican, of which Pope Leo XIV was prefect, he has among his main functions to choose to choose bishops in the respective dioceses, prelatures and vicariates around the world. The Holy Father is the one who makes the decision to choose the best candidate for the position.
An archbishop is also a bishop, with the difference that he is in charge of an archdiocese, a diocese of greater size and importance.
The cardinals, chosen (created) by the Pope, are part of the Cardinal College, who has the responsibility of choosing the new Pope in a conclave when the reigning pontiff dies or renounces. In the election only those who are under 80 years of age participate.
In addition, they provide support to the Holy Father in their church service work worldwide.
Who is Cardinal Radcliffe?
Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe was born in London on August 22, 1945.
He entered the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in 1965. He was ordained a priest on October 2, 1971. He assumed as a general teacher of the order from 1992 to 2001.
He is a member of the CAFOD (agency of the Catholic Church of England and Wales, dedicated to charitable aid and development in overseas countries) and the International Cáritas Theological Commission.
He was created Cardinal by Pope Francis in the Consistory of December 7, 2024. Having turned 80 years old, he ceases to be a voter before an eventual conclave that chooses the next successor of San Pedro.
Walter Sánchez Silva
I am husband since 2008. With my wife we have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before birth. Since I joined ACI Press in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Colonia, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the family’s synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Sinodality, in 2023. I follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers the persecution of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as the ecclesial news in the region.