On red hat day, a small but historic change in the college

Today marks not only Pope Francis’ fifth red hat day, with the ceremonies to begin at 4 pm Roman time, but also an historical change in the composition of the College of Cardinals, albeit one with, on first glance, little effect on the day to day affairs of the Church.

The College of Cardinals is divided into three ranks: the cardinal-deacons, cardinal-priests and cardinal-bishops. Of these, the cardinal-bishops are of the highest rank and also the smallest of the three groups. Traditionally, the cardinal-bishops were the bishops of the seven* suburbicarian sees, the ancient dioceses surrounding Rome. Before 1962, these cardinals were the actual bishops of the suburbicarian sees, but in that year the position became titular and the dioceses received bishops who had the time to actual manage them.

The cardinal-bishops remained the highest order of cardinals, however, and from their ranks the dean and vice-dean of the entire College were chosen. In times of a sede vacante this becomes most visible, as the dean has the duty of calling the other cardinals to Rome and organising the conclave to elect a new pope. Today, the Dean of the College of Cardinals is the cardinal-bishop of Albano and Ostia, Cardinal Angelo Sodano**.

Maronite Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï, an eastern cardinal-bishop

In 1965, the order of cardinal-bishops was expanded by the addition of those patriarchs of eastern Churches in union with Rome who were made cardinals. There are three of these today: the Coptic patriarch and the current and previous Maronite patriarchs. After today’s consistory, they will be joined by the Chaldean patriarch. These eastern cardinal-bishops, while equal in rank to the others, receive no suburbicarian see and do not participate in the election of dean and vice-dean (they are also unable to be elected themselves)***.

Over the centuries, but especially in the last decades, the College of Cardinals has continuously grown in size. For example, about a century ago, the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XV consisted of 57 cardinals (a further 8 were unable to take part), while following today’s consistory, there will be 125 electors. This growth took part solely in the ranks of the cardinal-deacons and the cardinal-priests. The cardinal-bishops steadfastly remained limited to the holders of the suburbicarian sees. To remedy that, Pope Francis decided to select four cardinals to be elevated to the rank of cardinal-bishops. They keep their current title churches and duties, but it may be assumed that they are now first in line to be moved to a suburbicarian see when one falls vacant. The four new cardinal-bishops are full members of the highest section of the hierarchy in all respects, and can vote for and be elected as dean or vice-dean. Canons 350 and 352 of the Code of Canon Law limit this to the holders of the suburbicarian sees, but that limitation has been waived for the new cardinal-bishops.

For this honour, which is simultaneously an obligation, Pope Francis has selected four cardinals from three different countries, who all work in the Curia in Rome.

1. Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State, 63. Perhaps the most important rising star in Francis’ papacy. A trained diplomat, the erstwhile Nuncio to Venezuela was called to Rome in 2013 to succeed Cardinal Bertone as Secretary of State. In 2014 he was made a cardinal with the title of Santi Simone e Giuda Taddeo a Torre Angela, and was added to the Council of Cardinals, the C9, that assists the pope in reforming the Curia, about a year after that group was established.
2. Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, 74. Argentinean like the pope, Cardinal Sandri is also a diplomat, having served as Nuncio to Venezuela and Mexico before joining the Secretariat of State as Substitute for General Affairs in 2000. He became Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in 2007 and was made a cardinal in that same year. Last month, he was one of the cardinal-deacons who were promoted to cardinal-priests. He maintained is title of Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari, as he does with his elevation to cardinal-bishop.
3. Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, 74. Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in 2001 and 2002, the Canadian prelate returned home as archbishop of Québec, and was made a cardinal in 2003, with Santa Maria in Traspontina as his title church. Since 2010 he serves as prefect of the congregation which controls the appointing of bishops around the world.
4. Fernando Cardinal Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, 72. Like two of his three classmates a diplomat, having served as Nuncio in Jordan, Iraq and the Philippines. Like Cardinal Sandri, he also served as Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State, from 2007 to 2011. In that latter year he became Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, and was made a cardinal in 2012. He holds the title of Nostra Signora do Coromoto in San Giovanni di Dio.

In paractice these changes mean that Cardinals Parolin, Sandri, Ouellet and Filoni are among the most significant collaborators of the pope, and when the time for a conclave comes, it will be Cardinal Parolin who will oversee the proceedings: he will take on those duties that Cardinal Sodano is unable to because of his age.

With these elevations and the creation of fourteen new cardinals today, the makeup of the entire College of Cardinals is listed below. In bold are those cardinals under the age of 80, who can vote in a conclave. Their duties and offices are summarised here. In many cases, especially for cardinals working in the curia, they have or had several functions. I have chosen to list only their most prominent or best-known roles.

Cardinal-Bishops

1. Angelo Cardinal Sodano: Dean of the College of Cardinals, Secretary of State emeritus
2. Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re: Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops
3. Roger Cardinal Etchegaray: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
4. Francis Cardinal Arinze: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
5. Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone: Secretary of State emeritus
6. José Cardinal Saraiva Martins: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
7. Pietro Cardinal Parolin: Secretary of State
8. Leonardo Cardinal Sandri: Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
9. Marc Cardinal Ouellet: Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
10. Fernando Cardinal Filoni: Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples
11. Nasrallah Pierre Cardinal Sfeir: Patriarch emeritus of Antioch (Maronite Rite)
12. Antonios Cardinal Naguib: Patriarch emeritus of Alexandria (Coptic Rite)
13. Béchara Pierre Cardinal Raï: Patriarch of Antioch (Maronite Rite)
14. Louis Raphaël I Cardinal Sako: Patriarch of Babylon (Chaldean Rite)

Cardinal-Priests

1. Michael Michai Cardinal Kitbunchu: Archbishop emeritus of Bangkok
2. Alexandre Cardinal do Nascimento: Archbishop emeritus of Luanda
3. Godfried Cardinal Danneels: Archbishop emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel
4. Thomas Stafford Cardinal Williams: Archbishop emeritus of Wellington
5. Henryk Roman Cardinal Gulbinowicz: Archbishop emeritus of Wroclaw
6. Jozef Cardinal Tomko: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples
7. Paul Cardinal Poupard: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture, President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
8. Friedrich Cardinal Wetter: Archbishop emeritus of München und Freising
9. Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis: Archbishop emeritus of Utrecht
10. Eduardo Cardinal Martínez Somalo: Prefect emeritus of the Consecration for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
11. Achille Cardinal Silvestrini: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
12. José Freire Cardinal Falcão: Archbishop emeritus of Brasília
13. Alexandre José María Cardinal dos Santos: Archbishop emeritus of Maputo
14. Christian Wiyghan Cardinal Tumi: Archbishop emeritus of Douala
15. Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
16. Nicolás de Jesús Cardinal López Rodríguez: Archbishop emeritus of Santo Domingo
17. Roger Michael Cardinal Mahony: Archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles
18. Camillo Cardinal Ruini: Vicar General emeritus for the Vicariate of Rome, Archpriest emeritus of S. John Lateran
19. Henri Cardinal Schwery: Bishop emeritus of Sion
20. Jaime Lucas Cardinal Ortega y Alamino: Archbishop emeritus of Havana
21. Julius Riyadi Cardinal Darmaatmadja: Archbishop emeritus of Jakarta
22. Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala: Archbishop emeritus of Kampala
23. Adam Joseph Cardinal Maida: Archbishop emeritus of Detroit
24. Vinko Cardinal Puljic: Archbihsop of Vrhbosna
25. Juan Cardinal Sandoval Íñiguez: Archbihsop emeritus of Guadalajara
26. Jorge Arturo Cardinal Medina Estévez: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
27. James Francis Cardinal Stafford: Archbishop emeritus of Denver
28. Salvatore Cardinal De Giorgi: Archbishop emeritus of Palermo
29. Serafim Fernandes Cardinal de Araújo: Archbishop emeritus of Belo Horizonte
30. Antonio María Cardinal Rouco Varela: Archbishop emeritus of Madrid
31. Polycarp Cardinal Pengo: Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam
32. Christoph Cardinal Schönborn: Archbishop of Vienna
33. Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carrera: Archbishop emeritus of Mexico
34. Marian Cardinal Jaworski: Archbishop emeritus of Lviv
35. Janis Cardinal Pujats: Archbishop emeritus of Riga
36. Agostino Cardinal Cacciavillan: President emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
37. Sergio Cardinal Sebastiani: President emeritus of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
38. Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski: Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
39. Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe: Archbishop of Naples
40. Walter Cardinal Kasper: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
41. Geraldo Majella Cardinal Agnelo: Archbishop emeritus of São Salvador de Bahia
42. Pedro Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz: Archbishop emeritus of Bogotá
43. Theodore Edgar Cardinal McCarrick: Archbishop emeritus of Washington
44. Audrys Juozas Cardinal Backis: Archbishop emeritus of Vilnius
45. Francisco Javier Cardinal Errázuriz Ossa: Archbishop emeritus of Santiago de Chile
46. Wilfrid Fox Cardinal Napier: Archbishop of Durban
47. Óscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga: Archbishop of Tegucigalpa and Coordinator of the Council of Cardinals
48. Juan Luis Cardinal Cipriani Thorne: Archbishop of Lima
49. Francisco Cardinal Álvarez Martínez: Archbishop emeritus of Toledo
50. Cláudio Cardinal Hummes: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Clergy
51. Severino Cardinal Poletto: Archbishop emeritus of Torino
52. Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran: President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
53. Julián Cardinal Herranz Casado: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
54. Javier Cardinal Lozano Barragán: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers
55. Angelo Cardinal Scola: Archbishop emeritus of Milan
56. Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie: Archbishop emeritus of Lagos
57. Gabriel Cardinal Zubier Wako: Archbishop emeritus of Khartoum
58. Carlos Cardinal Amigo Vallejo: Archbihsop emeritus of Sevilla
59. Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali: Archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia
60. Eusébio Oscar Cardinal Scheid: Archbishop emeritus of Rio de Janeiro
61. Ennio Cardinal Antonelli: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Family
62. Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson: Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
63. Telesphore Placidus Cardinal Toppo: Archbishop emeritus of Ranchi
64. George Cardinal Pell: Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy
65. Josip Cardinal Bozanic: Archbishop of Zagreb
66. Jean-Baptise Cardinal Pham Minh Man: Archbishop emeritus of Ho Chi Minh City
67. Philipp Christian Igance Marie Cardinal Barbarin: Archbishop of Lyon
68. Péter Cardinal Erdö: Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest
69. William Joseph Cardinal Levada: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
70. Franc Cardinal Rode: Prefect emeritus of the Consecration for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
71. Agostino Cardinal Vallini: Pontifical Legate for the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi
72. Jorge Liberato Cardinal Urosa Savino: Archbishop of Caracas
73. Gaudencio Borbon Cardinal Rosales: Archbishop emeritus of Manila
74. Jean-Pierre Bernard Cardinal Ricard: Archbishop of Bordeaux
75. Antonio Cardinal Cañizares Llovera: Archbishop of Valencia
76. Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk: Archbishop emeritus of Seoul
77. Seán Patrick Cardinal O’Malley: Archbishop of Boston
78. Stanislaw Cardinal DziwiszArchbishop emeritus of Kraków
79. Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun: Bishop emeritus of Hong Kong
80. Albert Cardinal Vanhoye: Secretary emeritus of the Pontifical Biblical Commission
81. Giovanni Cardinal Lajolo: President emeritus of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and President emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State
82. Paul Josef Cardinal Cordes: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”
83. Angelo Cardinal Comastri: Archpriest of St. Peter and Vicar General for the Vatican City State
84. Stanislaw Cardinal Rylko: Archpries of St. Mary Major
85. Raffaele Cardinal Farina: Librarian emeritus of the Vatican Apostolic Library and Archivist emeritus of the Vatican Secret Archives
86. Seán Baptist Cardinal Brady: Archbishop emeritus of Armagh
87. Lluís Cardinal Martinez Sistach: Archbishop emeritus of Barcelona
88. André Armand Cardinal Vingt-Trois: Archbishop emeritus of Paris
89. Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco: Archbishop of Genova
90. Théodore-Adrien Cardinal Sarr: Archbishop emeritus of Dakar
91. Oswald Cardinal Gracias: Archbishop of Bombay
92. Francisco Cardinal Robles Ortega: Archbishop of Guadalajara
93. Daniel Nicholas Cardinal DiNardo: Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
94. Odilo Pedro Cardinal Scherer: Archbishop of São Paulo
95. John Cardinal Njue: Archbishop of Nairobi
96. Estanislao Esteban Cardinal Karlic: Archbishop emeritus of Paraná
97. Raúl Eduardo Cardinal Vela Chiriboga: Archbishop emeritus of Quito
98. Laurent Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya: Archbishop of Kinshasa
99. Paolo Cardinal Romeo: Archbishop emeritus of Palermo
100. Donald William Cardinal Wuerl: Archbishop of Washington
101. Raymundo Damasceno Cardinal Assis: Archbishop emeritus of Aparecida
102. Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz: Archbishop of Warszawa
103. Albert Malcolm Ranjith Cardinal Patabendige Don: Archbishop of Colombo
104. Reinhard Cardinal Marx: Archbishop of München und Freising
105. José Manuel Cardinal Estepa Llaurens: Military Ordinary emeritus of Spain
106. George Cardinal Alencherry: Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly (Syro-Malabar Rite)
107. Thomas Christopher Cardinal Collins: Archbishop of Toronto
108. Dominik Cardinal Duka: Archbishop of Prague
109. Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk: Archbishop of Utrecht
110. Giuseppe Cardinal Betori: Archbishop of Firenze
111. Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan: Archbishop of New York
112. Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki: Archbishop of Köln
113. John Cardinal Tong Hon: Bishop emeritus of Hong Kong
114. Lucian Cardinal Muresan: Major Archbishop of Fagaras si Alba Iulia (Romanian Rite)
115. Baselios Cleemis Cardinal Thottunkal: Major Archbishop of Trivandrum (Syro-Malankar Rite)
116. John Olorunfemi Cardinal Onaiyekan: Archbishop of Abuja
117. Jesús Rubén Cardinal Salazar Gómez: Archbishop of Bogotá
118. Luis Antonio Gokim Cardinal Tagle: Archbishop of Manila
119. Vincent Gerard Cardinal Nichols: Archbishop of Westminster
120. Leopoldo José Cardinal Brenes Solórzano: Archbishop of Managua
121. Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix: Archbishop of Québec
122. Jean-Pierre Cardinal Kutwa: Archbishop of Abidjan
123. Orani João Cardinal Tempesta: Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro
124. Gualtiero Cardinal Bassetti: Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve
125. Mario Aurelio Cardinal Poli: Archbishop of Buenos Aires
126. Andrew Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung: Archbishop of Seoul
127. Ricardo Cardinal Ezzati Andrello: Archbishop of Santiago de Chile
128. Philippe Nakellentuba Cardinal Ouédraogo: Archbishop of Ouagadougou
129. Orlando Beltran Cardinal Quevedo: Archbishop of Cotabato
130. Chibly Cardinal Langlois: Bishop of Les Cayes
131. Fernando Cardinal Sebastián Aguilar: Archbishop emeritus of Pamplona y Tudela
132. Kelvin Edward Cardinal Felix: Archbishop emeritus of Castries
133. Manuel José Cardinal Macário do Nascimento Clemente: Patriarch of Lissabon
134. Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel: Metropolitan of Addis Abeba (Ethiopic Rite)
135. John Atcherley Cardinal Dew: Archbishop of Wellington
136. Edoardo Cardinal Menichelli: Archbishop emeritus of Ancona-Osimo
137. Pierre Cardinal Nguyen Van Nhon: Archbishop of Hanoi
138. Alberto Cardinal Suárez Inda: Archbishop emeritus of Morelia
139. Charles Maung Cardinal Bo: Archbishop of Yangon
140. Francis Xavier Kriengsak Cardinal Kovithavanij: Archbishop of Bangkok
141. Francesco Cardinal Montenegro: Archbishop of Agrigento
142. Daniel Fernando Cardinal Sturla Berhouet: Archbishop of Montevideo
143. Ricardo Cardinal Blázquez Pérez: Archbishop of Valladolid
144. José Luis Cardinal Lacunza Maestrojuán: Bishop of David
145. Arlindo Cardinal Gomes Furtado: Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde
146. Soane Patita Cardinal Mafi: Bishop of Tonga
147. José de Jesús Cardinal Pimiento Rodriguez: Archbishop emeritus of Manizales
148. Luis Héctor Cardinal Villalba: Archbishop emeritus of Tucumán
149. Júlio Duarte Cardinal Langa: Bishop emeritus of Xai-Xai
150. Dieudonné Cardinal Nzapalainga: Archbishop of Bangui
151. Carlos Cardinal Osoro Sierra: Archbishop of Madrid
152. Sérgio Cardinal da Rocha: Archbishop of Brasília
153. Blase Joseph Cardinal Cupich: Archbishop of Chicago
154. Patrick Cardinal D’Rozario: Archbishop of Dhaka
155. Baltazar Enrique Cardinal Porras Cardozo: Archbishop of Mérida
156. Jozef Cardinal De Kesel: Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel
157. Maurice Cardinal Piat: Bishop of Port-Louis
158. Carlos Cardinal Aguiar Retes: Archbishop of Mexico
159. John Cardinal Ribat: Archbishop of Port Moresby
160. Joseph William Cardinal Tobin: Archbishop of Newark
161. Anthony Soter Cardinal Fernandez: Archbishop emeritus of Kuala Lumpur
162. Renato Cardinal Corti: Bishop emeritus of Novara
163. Sebastian Koto Cardinal Khoarai: Bishop emeritus of Mohale’s Hoek
164. Jean Cardinal Zerbo: Archbishop of Bamako
165. Juan José Cardinal Omella Omella: Archbishop of Barcelona
166. Anders Cardinal Arborelius: Bishop of Stockholm
167. Lousi-Marie Cardinal Ling Mangkhanekhoun: Vicar Apostolic of Vientiane
168. Gregorio Cardinal Rosa Chávez: Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador
169. Joseph Cardinal Coutts: Archbishop of Karachi
170. António Augusto Cardinal dos Santos Marto: Bishop of Leiria-Fátima
171. Pedro Ricardo Cardinal Barreto Jimeno: Archbishop of Huancayo
172. Désiré Cardinal Tsarahazana: Archbishop of Toamasina
173. Giuseppe Cardinal Petrocchi: Archbishop of L’Aquila
174. Thomas Aquino Manyo Cardinal Maeda: Archbishop of Osaka
175. Sergio Cardinal Obeso Rivera: Archbishop emeritus of Jalapa
176. Toribio Cardinal Ticona Porco: Prelate emeritus of Corocoro

Cardinal-Deacons

1. Renato Cardinal Martino: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
2. Angelo Cardinal Amato: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
3. Robert Cardinal Sarah: Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
4. Francesco Cardinal Monterisi: Archpriest emeritus of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls
5. Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke: Patron of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
6. Kurt Cardinal Koch: President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
7. Paolo Cardinal Sardi: Patron emeritus of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
8. Mauro Cardinal Piacenza: Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary
9. Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi: President of the Pontifical Council for Culture
10. Elio Cardinal Sgreccia: President emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life
11. Walter Cardinal Brandmüller: President emeritus of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences
12. Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro: Major Penitentiary emeritus of the Apostolic Penitentiary
13. Santos Cardinal Abril y Castelló: Archpriest emeritus of St. Mary Major
14. Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliò: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
15. Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello: President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State
16. Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio: President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
17. João Cardinal Bráz de Aviz: Prefect of the Consecration for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
18. Edwin Frederick Cardinal O’Brien: Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepuclhre of Jerusalem
19. Domenico Cardinal Calcagno: President emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
20. Giuseppe Cardinal Versaldi: Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
21. Prosper Cardinal Grech: Priest of the Archdiocese of Malta
22. James Michael Cardinal Harvey: Archpriest of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls
23. Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri: Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops
24. Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller: Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
25. Beniamino Cardinal Stella: Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy
26. Dominique Francois Joseph Cardinal Mamberti: Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
27. Luigi Cardinal De Magistris: Major Pro-Penitentiary emeritus
28. Karl-Josef Cardinal Rauber: Apostolic Nuncio emeritus to Belgium and Luxembourg
29. Mario Cardinal Zenari: Apostolic Nuncio to Syria
30. Kevin Joseph Cardinal Farrell: Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life
31. Ernest Cardinal Simoni: Priest of the Diocese of Shkodrë-Pult
32. Luis Francisco Cardinal Ladaria Ferrer: Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
33. Angelo Cardinal De Donatis: Archpriest of St. John Lateran and Vicar General for the Vicariate of Rome
34. Giovanni Angelo Cardinal Becciu: Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
35. Konrad Cardinal Krajewski: Almoner of His Holiness
36. Aquilino Cardinal Bocos Merino: Superior General emeritus of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

*Over time, there have been some mergers and splits among these seven sees, but today they are: Albano, Frascati, Ostia, Palestrina, Porto-Santa Rufina, Sabina-Poggio Mirteto and Velletri-Segni.

*The title of Ostia is given to the Dean in addition to his own titular diocese. It has no bishop of its own and it is governed by the vicar-general for the Vicariate of Rome, currently Archbishop Angelo De Donatis, who himself will be made a cardinal today.

***This may be one of the reasons for today’s changes. If a conclave were to be held now, its proceedings would be overseen by Maronite Patriarch Béchara Cardinal Raï, himself not a Roman prelate. This would be so because the dean, at 90, is too old to participate in a conclave and his duties would then automatically fall to the senior cardinal-bishop who is also an elector. Cardinal Raï is the sole elector among the cardinal-bishops today.

Photo credit: [2] Alessia GIULIANI/CPP/CIRIC, [4] CNS/Paul Haring, [5] AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

 

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Enter the Synod members

Yesterday the Holy See published the list of participants in the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the family. Of course, there are the usual suspects: the heads of the Roman Curia departments, the standing members of the Synod and the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences, with the latter being default participants in an Extraordinary General Synod, which this one is. Pope Francis has had a personal touch in the selection of several participants; noteable among those are Cardinal Kasper, to all appearances a theologian much appreciated by the Holy Father, but also the vast majority of cardinals he created in his first consistory of last February.

A breakdown per country also shows Pope Francis’ fairly strong focus on both the southern half of the globe and the Middle East. When looking at the members personally appointed by the Pope, as well as the lay and professional participants and auditors, we see that, while 35 participants come from Europe (19 of whom are based in Rome or other parts of Italy), 15 participants come from Asia (5 of them from the Middle East), 12 from Central and South America, 9 from Africa, 4 from Oceania and 4 from North America. Add to those the bishops’ conference presidents and not least the fact that two of the three President Delegates come from outside Europe, and you get a distinct non-western picture.

From a local point of view it is interesting to see that no less than four participants come from Belgium, while there is only a single one from the Netherlands and a mere two from Germany. Belgium sends Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard,which was expected as he is the president of the Belgian bishops’ conference, but also his predecessor, Cardinal Godfried Danneels (pictured), as well as Father George Henri Ruyssen of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. Additionaly, Metropolitan Athenagoras, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgium, attends as a “fraternal delegate”.

From the Netherlands comes the archbishop of Utrecht, Cardinal Wim Eijk, as the president of our bishops’ conference, and Germany sends Cardinal Reinhard Marx, not a stranger in Rome, and Berlin’s Professor Ute Eberl.

And of course the list has been criticised, not least today by Fr. Thomas Reese. His argument that the presence of heads of the Curia is a bad thing, and an indication that Pope Francis’ intentions of overhauling and streamlining the workings of the Curia is doomed to fail, is plainly ludicrous. He argues that the prefects and presidents of the Curia are merely staff members and not policy makers, and should therefore be merely attending, not speaking or voting in the Synod, which is an extreme oversimplification. By that reasoning the presidents of the bishops’ conferences should not be there as participants either. The members of the Roman Curia are the closest collaborators of the Pope. They meet with him on a weekly basis and he is generally kept up to date on whatever is going on in the various department. But the Pope is one man, so the prefects and presidents not only have the leeway to make their own decisions, that is also their mandate. They are also not random clerics appointed on a whim, but experienced in their own field of work. They are far more than staff. Their experience, knowledge and mandate are enough to give them not only the right and duty to attend the Synod, but also to contribute and decide. Cricitism like that of Fr. Reese seems mostly motivated by a deeply ingrained fear and mistrust of the Curia, which has created an artifical opposition between individual faithful and the institutional Church.

Anyway, the Synod is still a couple of weeks away. Let’s give it the chance it deserves and not let it die a quiet death once the delegates have returned home.

Below is the full list of participants, as published yesterday:

PRESIDENT

• Pope Francis

GENERAL SECRETARY

• Lorenzo Cardinal Baldiserri

PRESIDENT DELEGATES

• André Cardinal Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, France
• Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, Philippines
• Raymunda Damasceno Cardinal Assis, Archbishop of Aparecida, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Brazil

RELATOR GENERAL

• Péter Cardinal Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Hungary, President of the Concilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae (CCEE).

SPECIAL SECRETARY

• Archbishop Bruno Forte, Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Italy

PRESIDENT OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE MESSAGE

• Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture

VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE MESSAGE

• Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina

SYNOD FATHERS FROM THE ORIENTAL CHURCHES

• Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, President of the Synod of the Catholic Coptic Church
• Patriarch Gregorios III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, President of the Synod the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church
• Patrirach Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patrirach of Antioch of the Syrians, President of the Syriac Catholic Church
• Patriarch Béchara Boutros Cardinal Raï, Patrirach of Antioch of the Maronites, President of the Synod of the Maronite Church
• Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, President of the Synod of the Chaldean Church
• Patriarch Nersos Bedros XIX  Tarmouni, Patrirach of Cilicia of the Armenians, President of the Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church
• Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc, President of the Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church
• Major Archbishop George Cardinal Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, President of the Syro-Malabar Church
• Major Archbishop Baselios Cleemis Cardinal Thottunkal, Major Archbishop of Trivandrum, President of the Synod of the Syro-Malankarese Church
• Major Archbishop Lucian Cardinal Muresan, Major Archbishop of Făgăras şi Alba Iulia, President of the Synod of the Romanian Church
• Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Abeba of the Ethiopics, President of the Council of the Ethiopian Church, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia and Eritrea
• Archbishop William Charles Skurla, Archbishop of Pittsburgh of the Ruthenians, President of the Council of the Ruthenian Church in the United States of America
• Archbishop Ján Babjak, Archbishop of Presov of the Slovaks, President of the Council of the Slovak Church

PRESIDENT OF THE BISHOPS’ CONFERENCES

• Bishop Benoît Comlan Messan Alowonou, Bishop of Kpalimé, Togo
• Bishop Oscar Omar Aparicio Céspedes, Military Ordinary of Bolivia
• Archbishop José María Arancedo, Archbishop of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, Argentina
• Bishop Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden
• Raymundo Damasceno Cardinal Assis, Archbishop of Aparecido, Brazil (see also above)
• Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genova, Italy
• Bishop Gervaise Banshimiyubusa, Bishop of Ngozi, Burundi
• Bishop Michael Dixon Bhasera, Bishop of Masvingo, Zimbabwe
• Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, Archbishop of Valladolid, Spain
• Bishop Anthony Fallah Borwah, Bishop of Gbarnga, Liberia
• Bishop Jean-Claude Bouchard, Bishop of Pala, Chad
• Josip Cardinal Bozanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia
• Archbishop Stephen Brislin, Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
• Bishop Markus Büchel, Bishop of Sankt Gallen, Switzerland
• Archbishop Paul Bùi Van Doc, Archbishop of Thành-Phô Hô Chí Minh, Vietnam
• Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga, Archbishop of Tunja, Colombia
• Archbishop Ignatius Chama, Archbishop of Kasama, Zambia
• Archbishop Louis Chamniern Santisukniran, Archbishop of Thare and Nonseng, Thailand
• Archbishop Joseph Coutts, Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan
• Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario, Archbishop of Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Archbishop John Atcherley Dew, Archbishop of Wellington, New Zealand
• Bishop Nicolas Djomo Lola, Bishop of Tshumbe, Congo-Kinshasa
• Bishop Basílio do Nascimento, Bishop of Baucau, Timor-Leste
• Archbishop Paul-André Durocher, Archbishop of Gatineau, Canada
• Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands
• Péter Cardinal Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary (see also above)
• Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas, Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador
• Ricardo Cardinal Ezzati Andrello, Archbishop of Santiago, Chile
• Bishop Emmanuel Félémou, Bishop of Kankan, Guinea
• Bishop Oscar Gerardo Fernández Guillén, Bishop of Puntarenas, Costa Rica
• Archbishop Ruggero Franceschini, Archbishop of Izmir, Turkey
• Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, Archbishop of Poznan, Poland
• Archbishop Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
• Archbishop Zef Gashi, Archbishop of Bar, Montenegro
• Bishop Catalino Claudio Giménez Medina, Bishop of Caacupé, Paraguay
• Bishop Andrej Glavan, Bishop of Novo Mesto, Slovenia
• Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
• Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, India
• Archbishop Jan Graubner, Archbishop of Olomouc, Czech Republic
• Bishop Mario Grech, Bishop of Gozo, Malta
• Archbishop John Ha Tiong Hock, Archbishop of Kuching, Malaysia
• Archbishop Denis James Hart, Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia
• Bishop Eugène Cyrille Houndékon, Bishop of Abomey, Benin
• Archbishop John Hung Shan-Chuan, Archbishop of Taipei, Taiwan
• Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos, Nigeria
• Bishop Peter Kang U-Il, Bishop of Cheju, South Korea
• Archbishop Samuel Kleda, Archbishop of Douala, Cameroon
• Bishop Franjo Komarica, Bishop of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Archbisop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Archbishop of Minsk-Mohilev, Belarus
• Bishop Patrick Daniel Koroma, Bishop of Kenema, Sierra Leone
• Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville, United States of America
• Archbishop Vincent Landèl, Archbishop of Rabat, Morocco
• Chibly Cardinal Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti
• Bishop Mathieu Madega Lebouakehan, Bishop of Mouila, Gabon
• Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium
• Archbishop Gerard Tlali Lerotholi, Archbishop of Maseru, Lesotho
• Bishop Felix Lian Khen Thang, Bishop of Kalay, Myanmar
• Patriarch José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal
• Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga, Tonga
• Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, Vicar Apostolic of Paksé, Laos
• Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, Ireland
• Reinhard Cardinal Marx, Archbishop of München und Freising, Germany
• Archbishop Angelo Massafra, Archbishop of Shkodrë-Pult, Albania
• Bishop Juan Matogo Oyana, Bishop of Bata, Equatorial Guinea
• Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi, Arcbishop of Lubango, Angola
• Bishop Smaragde Mbonyintege, Bishop of Kabgayi, Rwanda
• Archbishop Thomas Meram, Archbishop of Urmya, Iran
• Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, Archbishop of Lviv, Ukraine
• Bishop Lúcio Andrice Muandula, Bishop of Xai-Xai, Mozambique
• Archbishop Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, Archbishop of Windhoek, Namibia
• Bishop Benjamin Ndiaye, Bishop of Kaolack, Senegal
• Bishop Tarcisius J.M. Ngalalekumtwa, Bishop of Iringa, Tanzania
• Vincent Gerard Cardinal Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, United Kingdom
• John Cardinal Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya
• Bishop Rimantas Norvila, Bishop of Vilkaviskis, Lithuania
• Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic
• Archbishop John Baptist Odama, Archbishop of Gulu, Uganda
• Archbishop Peter Takeo Okada, Archbishop of Tokyo, Japan
• Bishop Arnold Orowae, Bishop of Wabag, Papua New Guinea
• Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, Ghana
• Archbishop Paul Yembuado Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
• Archbishop Diego R. Padrón Sánchez, Archbishop of Cumaná, Venezuela
• Bishop Franghískos Papamanólis, Bishop of Syros and Santorini, Greece
• Albert Malcolm Ranjith Cardinal Patabendige Don, Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Bishop Gregorio Nicanor Peña Rodríguez, Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey, Dominican Republic
• Archbishop Tomasz Peta, Archbishop of Mary Most Holy in Astana, Kazakhstan
• Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, Archbishop of Mother of God at Moscow, Russia
• Bishop Maurice Piat, Bishop of Port-Louis, Seychelles
• Archbishop Patrick Christopher Pinder, Archbishop of Nassau, Bahamas
• Archbishop Salvador Piñeiro García-Calderón, Archbishop of Ayacucho, Peru
• Archbishop Georges Pontier, Archbishop of Marseille, France
• Bishop Louis Portella Mbuyu, Bishop of Kinkala, Congo-Brazzaville
• Bishop Christo Proykov, Apostolic Exarch of Sofia of the Bulgarians, Bulgaria
• Francisco Cardinal Robles Ortega, Archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico
• Archbishop Ioan Robu, Archbishop of Bucharest, Romania
• Óscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras
• Bishop Sócrates René Sándigo Jirón, Bishop of Juigalpa, Nicaragua
• Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Wien, Austria
• Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Abeba of the Ethiopics, Ethiopia (see also above)
• Archbishop Zbignev Stankevics, Archbishop of Riga, Latvia
• Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta, Indonesia
• Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, Archbishop of Glasgow, United Kingdom
• Bishop Jean-Baptiste Tiama, Bishop of Sikasso, Mali
• Archbishop Alexis Touabli Youlo, Archbishop of Agboville, Côte d’Ivoire
• Archbishop Fausto Gabriel Trávez Trávez, Archbishop of Quito, Ecuador
• Archbishop Désiré Tsarahazana, Archbishop of Taomasina, Madagascar
• Patriarch Fouad Twal, Patriarch of Jerusalem
• Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, Archbishop of Panamá, Panama
• Bishop Rodolfo Valenzuela Núñez, Bishop of Vera Paz, Guatemala
• Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, Philippines
• Bishop Rodolfo Pedro Wirz Kraemer, Bishop of Maldonado-Punta del Este, Uruguay
• Gabriel Cardinal Zubeir Wako, Archbishop of Khartoum, Sudan
• Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza, Bishop of Mzuzu, Malawi
• Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský, Archbishop of Bratislava, Slovakia

ELECTED BY THE UNION OF SUPERIORS GENERAL

• Father Adolfo Nicolás Pachón, Superior General of the Society of Jesus
• Father Mauro Jöhri, Minister General of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor
• Father Mario Alegani, Superior General of the Congregation of Saint Joseph

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE ROMAN CURIA

• Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State
• Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
• Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
• Angelo Cardinal Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
• Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
• Fernando Cardinal Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples
• Beniamino Cardinal Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
• João Cardinal Bráz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
• Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
• Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, Major Penitentiary
• Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
• Stanislaw Cardinal Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
• Kurt Cardinal Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
• Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family
• Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
• Robert Cardinal Sarah, President of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”
• Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliò, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
• Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers
• Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
• Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
• Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture (see also above)
• Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
• Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation
• Domenico Cardinal Calcagno, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
• Giuseppe Cardinal Versaldi, President of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See

MEMBERS OF THE ORDINARY COUNCIL

• Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, United States of America
• Péter Cardinal Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary (see also above)
• Archbishop Bruno Forte, Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Italy (see also above)
• Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, India (see also above)
• Laurent Cardinal Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo-Kinshasa
• Wilfrid Fox Cardinal Napier, Archbishop of Durban, South Africa
• George Cardinal Pell, Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy
• Odilo Pedro Cardinal Scherer, Archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil
• Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Wien, Austria (see above)
• Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc, Ukraine (see also above)
• Bishop Santiago Jaime Silva Retamalas, Auxiliary Bishop of Valparaíso, Chile, Secretary General of the Episcopal Council of Latin America (CELAM)
• Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, Philippines (see also above)
• Donald William Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, United States of America
• Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (see also above)
• Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation (see also above)

MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE POPE

• Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals
• Godfried Cardinal Danneels, Archbishop emeritus of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium
• Walter Cardinal Kasper, President emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
• Angelo Cardinal Scola, Archbishop of Milan, Italy
• Carlo Cardinal Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna, Italy
• Lluís Cardinal Martínez Sistach, Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain
• André Cardinal Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, France (see also above)
• Jonh Cardinal Tong Hon, Bishop of Hong Kong, China
• Orani João Cardinal Tempesta, Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Adrew Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop of Seoul, South Korea
• Philippe Nakellentuba Cardinal Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
• Fernando Cardinal Sebastián Aguilar, Archbishop emeritus of Pamplona y Tudela, Spain
• Elio Cardinal Sgreccia, President emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life
• Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello, President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State
• Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci, Archbishop of Loreto, Italy
• Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop Anciona-Osimo, Italy
• Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Tlalnepatla, Mexico, President of the Episcopal Council of Latin America (CELAM)
• Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, Archbishop of Delhi, India
• Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (see also above)
• Bishop Alonso Gerardo Garza Treviño, Bishop of Piedras Negras, Mexico
• Bishop Edgard Amine Madi, Bishop of Nossa Senhora do Líbano em São Paulo of the Maronites, Brazil
• Bishop Enrico Solmi, Bishop of Parma, Italy, President of the Commission for Life and Family in the Italian Bishops’ Conference
• Monsignor Pio Vito Pinto, Dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota
• Father Francois-Xavier Dumortier, Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University Gregoriana
• Father Antonio Spadaro, Editor of the magazine “La Civiltà Cattolica”
• Father Manuel Jesús Arroba Conde, Professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical Lateran University

UNDERSECRETARY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS

• Bishop Fabio Fabene

LIST OF OTHER PARTICIPANTS ACCORDING TO THEIR TITLES

• Fr. Tony Anatrella, psycho-analist. Specialist in social psychiatry. Consultor to the Pontifical Councils for the Family and for Health Care Workers. France.
• Fr. Gérard Berliet, professor of Sacred Scripture at the provincial seminary in Lyon. Head of pastoral care for divorced and remarried faithful in the Archdiocese of Lyon, France.
• Fr. Bruno Esposito, professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical University St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome.
• Fr. Alfonso Fernández Benito, professor of Moral Theology and the Sacrament of Marriage at the Hugher Institute of Theological Studies “San Ildefonso”, director of the Institute for Religious Sciences Santa Maria di Toledo, Spain.
• Fr. Arul Raj Gali, National Director of “Holy Cross Family Ministries in India”.
• Dr. Jeffrey Goh, professor of Systematic Theology at the archdiocesan seminary and judge of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Kuching, Malaysia.
• Fr. Maurizio Gronchi, professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome, consultor for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
• Dr. Rodrigo Guerra López, general director of the Centre for Advanced Social Research, Mexico.
• Dr. Jocelyne Khoueiry, member of the Episcopal Commission for the Family of the APECL, Lebanon.
• Dr. Helen Kyung Soo Kwon, member of the executive committee of the “Helen Kim Scholarship Foundation at Ewha Womans University”, South Korea.
• Fr. Sabatino Majorano, professor of Systemic Moral Theology at the Alphonsianum, Italy.
• Mr. Christopher Laurence Meney, director of the Center for life, marriage and family of the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia.
• Professor Giuseppina de Simone, extraordinary professor of philosophy at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Naples. Married to ∨
• Professor Francesco Miano, professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, president of Catholic Action, Italy. Married to ^
• Professor Carmen Peña García, director of Especialista en Causas Matrimoniales, professor at the Faculty of Canon Law of the Comillas Pontifical University, Defender of the Bond and Promotor of Justice at the Metropolitan Court of Madrid, Spain.
• Fr. George Henri Ruyssen, professor at the Faculty of Oriental Canon Law of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. Belgium.

AUDITORS

•  Mr. Arturo and Mrs. Hermelinda As Zamberline, officials of the ‘Equipe Notre Dame” in Brazil.
• Mr. Riyadh Albeer Naoom Azzo and Mrs. Sanaa Namir Ibrahim Habeeb, witnessing of Christian family life in a Muslim environment, Iraq.
• Mr. León Botolo and Mrs. Marie Valentine Kisanga Sosawe, founders of Communauté Famille Chrétienne, Congo-Kinshasa.
• Professor Zelmira María Bottini de Rey, director of the Institute for Couples and Family of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, president of the Latin-America Network of the Institute of the Family of the Catholic Universities, Argentina.
• Mr. George Campos, director of Couples for Christ, Philippines. Married to ∨
• Mrs. Cynthia Campos, member of Couples for Christ, Philippines. Married to ^
• Mr. Inácio Amândio Chaúque, educator of young couples, Mozambique.
• Mrs. Joan Clements, director of the executive committe of the World Organisation Ovulation Method Billings (WOOMB), Australia.
• Mr. Stephen and Mrs. Sandra Conway, regional officers for Africa of Retrouvailles, South Africa.
• Dr. Ute Eberl, responsible for pastoral care for marriage and family in the Archdiocese of Berlin, Germany.
• Mrs. Pilar Escudero de Jensen, member of the vicariate general of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Chile, member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, member of the Family Institute of Schönstatt, Chile. Married to ∨
• Mr. Luis Jensen Acuña, member of the Bioethics Centre of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, member of the Family Institute of Schönstatt, Chile. Married to ^
• Dr. Jean Dieudonné Gatsinga and Mrs. Emerthe Gatsinga Tumuhayimpundu, repsonsible for young families of the Focolare movement in Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda.
• Mr. Jeffrey Heinzen, director of Natural Family Planing of the Diocese of La Crosse, United States of America. Married to ∨
• Mrs. Alice Heinzen, member of the Natural Family Planning Advisory Board of the Diocese of La Crosse, United States of America. Married to ^
• Dr. Ilva Myriam Hoyos Castañeda, prosecutor delegate for the defense of the rights of children, youth and family, Colombia.
• Mr. Sélim and Mrs. Rita Khoury, leading the Office for Pastoral Care for Families of the Patriarchal Curia of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon.
• Mrs. María Lacalle Noriega, director of the Centre of the Study of the family (Inst. Investigaciones económicas y sociales Francisco de Vitoria), secretary general of the Sociedad Española de bioética y biojurídica, Spain.
• Fr. Cajetan Menezes, director of the Family Apostolate in Bombay, India.
• Mr. Giuseppe Petracca Ciavarella and Mrs. Lucia Miglionico, medical doctors, members of the National Council for Pastoral Care of Families, Italy.
• Sister Margaret Muldoon, Superior General of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux, Ireland.
• Mr. Francisco Padilla, officer of the Couples for Christ Foundation for family and life movement, Philippines.
• Mr. Algirdas Petronis, vice president of the International Federation of Catholic Families, director of the Centre for the Family of the Archdiocese of Vilnius, Lithuania.
• Mr. Romano and Mrs. Mavis Pirola, directors of the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council.
• Mr Olivier and Mrs. Xristilla Roussy, responsible for the apostolic branch of Amour et Vérité, France.
• Mr. Steve and Mrs. Claudia Schultz, members of the International Catholic Engaged Encounter, United States of America.
• Mrs. Michèle Taupin, preident of the movement Espérance et Vie, France.
• Mrs. Jeannette Touré, National president of the Association of Catholic Women in Côte d’Ivoire.

FRATERNAL DELEGATES

•  Archbishop Athenagoras, Metropolitan of Belgium. Ecumenic patriarchate.
• Archbishop Hilarion, President of Department of External Church Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow.
• Metropolitan Bishoy, Metropolitan of Damietta, Kafr Elsheikh and Elbarari, Egypt. Coptic Orthodox Church.
• Mar Yostinos, Archbishop of Zhale and Bekau, Lebanon. Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.
• Bishop Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, England. Anglican Communion.
• Dr. Ndanganeni Petrus Phaswaha, Bishop-President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa. World Lutheran Federation.
• Dr. Benebo Fubara-Manuel, President of the Nigeria Communion of Reformed Churches. World Communion of Reformed Churches.
• Dr. Valérie Duval-Poujol, professor of Biblical Exegesis at the Catholic Institute of Paris, France. World Baptist Alliance.

The start of Pope Francis’ shake-up of the Curia?

A whole raft of new appointments and assignments in the Curia today. It seems as if Pope Francis is really getting to work with what he has been saying he would since his election: the reform of the Curia. New Secretary of State Archbishop Pietro Parolin is already waiting in the wings, ready to take over the office from Cardinal Bertone on 15 October. The Curia that he will be working closely with is starting to change with today’s transfers and appointments, although some prelates had their positions confirmed as well. These confirmations usually take place within the first week after a new Pope has been elected, but Pope Francis is taking his time: six months in, there are still prelates waiting to be confirmed.

I won’t hazard to guess if the appointments are wise or not, although I remain willing to give the Holy Father and the prelates in question every chance at doing their new jobs in the Curia, helping Pope Francis manage the Catholic Church and communicate, defend and confirm the faith that the Lord entrusted to her.

An overview at the changes:

Cardinal Piacenza and Archbishops Stella, Eterovic and Baldisseri

New appointments:

• Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, until today the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, succeeds Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro as Major Penitentiary. Cardinal Monteiro de Castro is 75 and has therefore retired. Cardinal Piacenza is 69 and has been a member of the Curia since 2000. He has been Undersecretary for the Congregation for the Clergy (2000-2003) and President of the Pontifical Commissions for the Cultural Heritage of the Church and for Sacred Archaeology following his consecration as bishop (2003-2007). In 2007 he was elevated to the dignity of archbishop and appointed as Secretary for the Congregation for the Clergy (2007-2010) and became its Prefect in 2010. In that same year he was created a cardinal. As head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal Piacenza is in charge of the Church tribunal chiefly dealing with excommunications, dispensations and indulgences.
• Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, was until today the Vice-President of the Pontifical Council “Ecclesia Dei”. He now returns to the office where he began his Curial career as he is appointed as Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This is a new position, as the Congregation also has a Secretary and an Undersecretary. Archbishop Di Noia began in the latter function in 2002. In 2009 he became the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, which came with a consecration to bishop. In 2012 Archbishop Di Noia was appointed to “Ecclesia Dei”.
• Archbishop Beniamino Stella succeeds Cardinal Piacenza as Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. He is a diplomat who began as Apostolic Delegate, Pro-Nuncio and Nuncio to various countries (Chad, the Central African Republic and Congo (1987-1992), Cuba (1992-1999) and Colombia (1999-2007). He was President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy which trains priests for diplomatic service, from 2007 to today.
• Archbishop-elect Jorge Carlos Patrón Wong, was until today the Bishop of Paplanta in Mexico. He has no Curial experience yet. From 2009 to 2012 he was Coadjutor Bishop of Paplanta, and last year he became the ordinary. He will be the Secretary for the Seminaries in the Congregation for the Clergy. This is a fairly new position, as the Congregation only received responsibility for the formation of priests in January of this year.
• Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, for more than nine years the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, the advisory body for the Pope which meets every couple of years for an intense series of discussions on specific topics. Before the task, Archbishop Eterovic served as the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, and he will now return to such a diplomatic posting, except this time in Germany. He succeeds Archbishop Jean-Claude Périsset, who is some six months shy of his 75th birthday and will therefore retire.
• Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, will retain one is his two offices, that of Secretary of the College of Cardinals. His other office, of Secretary of the Congregation of Bishops will be exchanged for that vacated by Archbishop Eterovic: Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. Archbishop Baldisseri’s appointment may safely be considered in  light of Pope Francis’ intent to move the Synod of Bishops to an instrument of an increased and more effective collegiality among the world’s bishops. Archbishop Baldisseri is also a diplomat, having served as Apostolic Nuncio to Haïti (1992-1995), Paraguay (1995-1999), India and Nepal (1999-2002) and Brazil (2002-2012).
• Archbishop-elect Giampiero Gloder is an official of the Secretariat of State who will succeed Archbishop Stella as President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

Confirmed:

Archbishop Müller and Cardinal Filoni

• Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
• Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
• Fernando Cardinal Filoni as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
• Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai as Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples
• Archbishop Protase Rugambwa as Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
• Archbishop Celso Morga Iruzubieta as secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy.

 

Synod of Bishops – Day Three

Trying to stay up to speed with the news is a task and a half, especially if it needs to be done in any free time available. Hence the relative silence yesterday and the double coverage of the Synod of Bishops today.

On to Day 3 then, which coincided with Wednesday. In the morning the Synod fathers split of in the several working groups, which are divided by language group. First on their agenda was the election of moderators and relators, or presiding prelates and communication officers, a list which was presented at the start of the afternoon session. The list of groups, with their moderators and relators is as follows:

• Anglicus A: Moderator: Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Archbishop of Durban, South Africa. Relator: Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville, United States.
• Anglicus B: Moderator: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, Ireland. Relator: Archbishop Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
• Anglicus C: Moderator: Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, India. Relator: Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, Archbishop of Glasgow, United Kingdom.
• Anglicus D: Moderator: Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia. Relator: Bishop Kieran O’Reilly, Bishop of Killaloe, Ireland.
• Gallicus A: Moderator: Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Relator: Bishop Dominique Rey, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, France.
• Gallicus B: Moderator: Archbishop Yves Patenôtre, Archbishop of Sens, France. Relator: Archbishop Claude Dagens, Archbishop of Angoulême, France.
• Germanicus: Moderator: Bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics, Bishop of Eisenstadt, Austria. Relator: Bishop Ladislav Nemet, Bishop of Zrenjanin, Serbia.
• Hispanicus A: Moderator: Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Tlalnepantla, Mexico. Relator: Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, Archbishop of Valladolid, Spain.
• Hispanicus B: Moderator: Bishop Julio Terán Dutari, Bishop of Ibarra, Ecuador. Relator: Bishop Santiago Silva Retamales, Auxiliary Bishop of Valparaíso, Chile.
• Italicus A: Moderator: Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. Relator: Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.
• Italicus B: Moderator: Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa, Italy. Relator: Archbishop Bruno Forte, Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Italy.
• Italicus C: Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Relator: Father Renato Salvatore, Superior General of the Clerks Regular of the Ministers of the Sick (Camillians).

In the afternoon, the Synod continued with the interventions of 16 fathers. The first speaker, Cardinal Tauran (pictured at right), said some interesting things about interreligious dialogue, which is, of course, his area of expertise. In that dialogue, he said,

“there is no room for syncretism or relativism! Faced with adepts from other religions with a strong religious identity, it is necessary to present motivated and doctrinally equipped Christians. This makes the new evangelization a priority to form coherent Christians, capable of demonstrating their faith, with simple words and without fear.”

About the situation in Turkey, Bishop Louis Pelâtre, the Vicar Apostolic of Istanbul, had some important words to say about the use of the Internet by the Church, words which are equally valuable for other parts of the world. The bishops said:

“The young generation learns about the faith through the internet. Having practically no access to public radios or televisions, we can however use these private networks used more by the evangelical Protestants than by the Catholics. From this the need for well-prepared and qualified workers for the harvest that awaits us. This specific apostolate cannot be satisfied by good will and improvisation alone.”

The most noted contribution, at least in social media, to this day’s session came from the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, pictured at left during his intervention. His theological address focussed on contemplation, and how that needs to be a first step before we present our faithful face to the world:

“To be contemplative as Christ is contemplative is to be open to all the fullness that the Father wishes to pour into our hearts. With our minds made still and ready to receive, with our self-generated fantasies about God and ourselves reduced to silence, we are at last at the point where we may begin to grow. And the face we need to show to our world is the face of a humanity in endless growth towards love, a humanity so delighted and engaged by the glory of what we look towards that we are prepared to embark on a journey without end to find our way more deeply into it, into the heart of the trinitarian life. St Paul speaks (in II Cor 3.18) of how ‘with our unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord’, we are transfigured with a greater and greater radiance. That is the face we seek to show to our fellow-human beings.”

And this, Dr. Williams said, is the goal of that contemplative attitude:

“[I]t is the key to prayer, liturgy, art and ethics, the key to the essence of a renewed humanity that is capable of seeing the world and other subjects in the world with freedom – freedom from self-oriented, acquisitive habits and the distorted understanding that comes from them. To put it boldly, contemplation is the only ultimate answer to the unreal and insane world that our financial systems and our advertising culture and our chaotic and unexamined emotions encourage us to inhabit. To learn contemplative practice is to learn what we need so as to live truthfully and honestly and lovingly. It is a deeply revolutionary matter.”

In that contemplation, we allow ourselves to be transformed by God, to be more and more conformed to His Trinitarian identity. This means that we can’t be bound any longer by our own selfish desires.

“To learn to look to God without regard to my own instant satisfaction, to learn to scrutinise and to relativise the cravings and fantasies that arise in me – this is to allow God to be God, and thus to allow the prayer of Christ, God’s own relation to God, to come alive in me. Invoking the Holy Spirit is a matter of asking the third person of the Trinity to enter my spirit and bring the clarity I need to see where I am in slavery to cravings and fantasies and to give me patience and stillness as God’s light and love penetrate my inner life. Only as this begins to happen will I be delivered from treating the gifts of God as yet another set of things I may acquire to make me happy, or to dominate other people.”

There is more, and I coud just post the entire text here. But that will just make this blog post far too longer, so check the day’s Bulletin for the texts, both of Dr. Williams’ address and the summaries of the other interventions.

New jobs for new cardinals

In the run-up to the previous consistory, we’ve heard often that one of the duties of cardinals is to aid the pope in all manner of Church-related affairs. Exactly how that takes shape became clear yesterday, as the new cardinals have been appointed to seats on various congregations, tribunals, councils and committees. Here follows a list of the dicasteries and the new cardinals that were assigned to them.

• Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Cardinals Alencherry, Filoni and Coccopalmerio
• Congregation for the Oriental Churches: Cardinals Alencherry, Dolan, Muresan, Filoni and O’Brien
• Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments: Cardinal Vegliò
• Congregation for the Causes of the Saints: Cardinals Monteiro de Castro and Abril y Castelló
• Congregation for Bishops: Cardinals Monteiro de Castro, Abril y Castelló, Bertello and Versaldi
• Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples: Cardinals Tong Hon, Abril y Castelló, Bertello and Calcagno
• Congregation for the Clergy: Cardinals Eijk and Braz de Aviz
• Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life: Cardinals Duka and Versaldi
• Congregation for Education: Cardinals Collins, Eijk, Betori, Woelki, Filoni, Braz de Aviz and O’Brien
• Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura: Cardinals Coccopalmerio and Versaldi
• Pontifical Council for the Laity: Cardinal Vegliò
• Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: Cardinals Woelki and Coccopalmerio
• Pontifical Council for the Family: Cardinal Vegliò
• Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: Cardinals Duka and Bertello
• Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”: Cardinal O’Brien
• Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People: Cardinal Monteiro de Castro
• Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers: Cardinal Calcagno
• Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue: Cardinal Tong Hon
• Pontifical Council for Culture: Cardinal Betori
• Pontifical Council for Social Communications: Cardinals Collins and Dolan
• Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation: Cardinal Dolan
• Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses: Cardinal Braz de Aviz

Both new to the Congregation for Education: Cardinals Thomas Collins and Wim Eijk

All the Church’s cardinals under the age of 80 (and some over 80) have one or more functions within the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. This is in addition to their regular duties as diocesan bishops or curial prelates. In practice it means that they’ll have to be in Rome a bit more often than before.

Our own Cardinal Eijk has been appointed to the Congregations for Clergy (responsible for all secular priests and deacons) and Education (seminaries and Catholic schools). He will than be in Rome for up to four times a year, as these dicasteries meet. Cardinal Eijk will not be needed in Rome for the day-to-day affairs of the Congregations and, even then, he will of course be able to do a significant amount of work from Utrecht.

These appointments form one of two steps that fully integrate new cardinals into the curia. The other step is the official taking possession of their title churches. This can take some time, sometimes up to a year after the consistory in which a cardinal was created.  Of the latest batch, only Cardinals Filoni and Grech have done so. Cardinals Becker, Monteiro de Castro and Tong Hon will take possession of their churches today, and Cardinal Coccopalmerio will follow on Thursday. The dates for the other cardinals are not yet known.

Photo credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

The actual title churches, or, how guessing gets you nowhere

Cardinal Eijk holding the bull of his assigned title church

Last week, I tried to predict which title churches and deaconries the new cardinals would be getting. While much was guesswork, I did succeed in making a few reasonable guesses: Sant’ Atanasio might go to Cardinal Muresan or Cardinal Alencherry; Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario to Cardinal Dolan or Cardinal Collins; San Gioacchino ai Prati di Castello to Cardinal Eijk; San Bernardo alle Terme to Cardinal Alencherry; San Giuseppe all’ Aurelio to Cardinal Woelki; San Gerardo Maiella to Cardinal Duka; Santissimo Redentore e Sant’ Alfonso in Via Merulana to Cardinal Dolan or Cardinal Collins; Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio to Cardinal Ries. I also suggested to San Patrizio would remain vacant and that San Teodoro would go to a cardinal with some link with the Orthodox Churches.

Well, in the end I guessed right three times: Cardinal Allencherry did get San Bernardo alle Terme, Cardinal Dolan got Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario, Cardinal Muresan got Sant’ Atanasio.

Here is the full list of new cardinals with their title churches and deaconries

• Fernando Cardinal Filoni, Cardinal-deacon of Nostra Signora di Coromoto in San Giovanni di Dio
• Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro, Cardinal-deacon of San Domenico di Guzman
• Santos Cardinal Abril y Castellò, Cardinal-deacon of San Ponziano
• Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliò, Cardinal-deacon of San Cesareo in Palatio
• Giuseppe Cardinal Bertello, Cardinal-deacon of Santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia
• Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio, Cardinal-deacon of San Giuseppe del Falegnami
• João Cardinal Bráz de Aviz, Cardinal-deacon of Sant’ Elena fuori Porta Prenestina
• Edwin Frederick Cardinal O’Brien, Cardinal-deacon of San Sebastiano al Palatino
• Domenico Cardinal Calcagno, Cardinal-deacon of Santissima Annunciazione della Beata Vergine Maria a Via Ardeatina
• Giuseppe Cardinal Versaldi, Cardinal-deacon of Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio
• George Cardinal Alencherry, Cardinal-priest of San Bernardo alle Terme
• Thomas Christopher Cardinal Collins, Cardinal-priest of San Patrizio
• Dominik Cardinal Duka, Cardinal-priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro
• Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk, Cardinal-priest of San Callisto
• Giuseppe Cardinal Betori, Cardinal-priest of San Marcello
• Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Cardinal-priest of Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario
• Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, Cardinal-priest of San Giovanni Maria Vianney
• John Cardinal Tong Hon, Cardinal-priest of Regina Apostolorum
• Lucian Cardinal Muresan, Cardinal-priest of Sant’ Atanasio
• Julien Cardinal Ries, Cardinal-deacon of San Antonio de Padova a Circonvallazione Appia
• Prosper Cardinal Grech, Cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria Goretti
• Karl Josef Cardinal Becker, Cardinal-deacon of San Giuliano Martire

San Callisto

As you will have noticed when comparing this list to the one in my previous post, there are five new deaconries and one new title church on the list. The Holy Father is free to create and abolish such churches as he sees fit, of course, but it’s interesting to wonder why some titles remain vacant as new ones are created.

Cardinal Eijk’s title church is San Callisto, located in Trastevere. The church itself dates from the 17th century, although there has been a church dedicated to Saint Pope Callistus I since the 8th century. The holy pope himself reigned in the 3rd century and was martyred and buried on the site where his church now stands. As cardinal-priest of this church, Cardinal Eijk succeeds Corrado Cardinal Ursi, the former archbishop of Naples who died in 2003. The later Popes Pius VII (pope from 1800 to 1823) and Gregory XVI (1831 to 1846) also held this title church.

It is a fairly small church, as Roman churches go, with a single aisle and chapels on either side.

In essence, a cardinal will have little to do with his title church or deaconry, although some are tasked with the financial upkeep of their assigned church or deaconry. All such churches, though, will prominently feature the coat of arms of their cardinal-protector on the facade.