Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals for the Catholic Church, five of them from Latin American countries, in a consistory that will be held on December 8.
The five new Latin American cardinals will be the Archbishop of Lima and Primate of Peru, Mons. Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio; the Archbishop of Santiago del Estero and Primate of Argentina, Mons. Vicente Bokalic Iglic; the Archbishop of Guayaquil (Ecuador), Mons. Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera OFM; the Archbishop of Santiago (Chile), Mons. Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib; and the Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brazil), Mons. Jaime Spengler OFM.
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The Holy Father made the announcement in his words after praying the Angelus, this Sunday, October 6, before the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
“And now I am happy to announce that on December 8 I will hold a consistory for the appointment of new cardinals,” said the Pope, recalling that the varied origin of the new cardinals “expresses the universality of the Church that continues to announce the merciful love of God to all men on earth.”
This inclusion, he added, “demonstrates the inseparable link between the See of Peter and the particular Churches spread throughout the world.”
One of the 21 new cardinals that Pope Francis will create on December 8 —Mons. Angelo Acerbi, who until February 27, 2001 was Apostolic Nuncio in New Zealand, is over 80 years old, so he will not be able to participate in a conclave to elect an eventual successor to Francis, 87 years old.
With the new cardinals, by December 8 there will be 141 cardinal electors, of which 111 have been appointed by Pope Francis, which represents 79% of the total.
After his announcement, Pope Francis asked to pray “for the new Cardinals, so that, confirming their adherence to Christ, the merciful and faithful High Priest, they may help me in the ministry of Bishop of Rome for the good of all the holy people of God.”
Below is the list of the new cardinals that will be created by Pope Francis, according to Vatican News spreadofficial Vatican news outlet:
1. Msgr. Angelo Acerbi, Apostolic Nuncio
2. Mons. Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio, Archbishop of Lima (Peru).
3. Mons. Vicente Bokalic Iglic, Archbishop of Santiago del Estero and Primate of Argentina.
4. Mons. Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera OFM, Archbishop of Guayaquil (Ecuador).
5. Monster. Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, Archbishop of Santiago (Chile).
6. Monsignor Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi SVD, Archbishop of Tokyo (Japan).
7. Monster. Pablo Virgilio Siongco David, Bishop of Kalookan (Philippines).
8. Monster. Ladislav Nemet SVD, Archbishop of Belgrade -Smederevo (Serbia).
9. Msgr. Jaime Spengler OFM, Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brazil).
10. Bishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Arzobispo de Abidjan (Costa de Marfil).
11. Mons. Jean-Paul Vesco OP, Arzobispo de Argel (Argelia).
12. Mons. Paskalis Bruno Syukur OFM, Obispo de Bogor (Indonesia).
13. Mons. Dominique Joseph Mathieu OFM Conv., Arzobispo de Teherán Ispahan (Irán).
14. Bishop Roberto Repole, Archbishop of Turin (Italy).
15. Bishop Baldassare Reina, Auxiliary Bishop of Rome, formerly Vicegerent and, as of today, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome.
16. Bishop Francis Leo, Archbishop of Toronto (Canada).
17. Bishop Rolandas Makrickas, Coadjutor Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
18. Bishop Mykola Bychok CSR, Bishop of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne of the Ukrainians.
19. P. Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe OP, teólogo.
20. Fr. Fabio Baggio CS, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development.
21. Bishop George Jacob Koovakad, official of the Secretariat of State, Responsible for Papal Travel.
David Ramos
Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working at ACI Prensa, I have been based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered Pope Francis’ trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.