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The College of Cardinals (or Cardinalate) is the body of all cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.

A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory.[1] It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor.[2] The college has no ruling power except during the sede vacante (papal vacancy) period, and even then its powers are extremely limited by the terms of the current law, which is laid down in the Apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis.

Historically, cardinals were the clergy of the city of Rome, serving the Bishop of Rome as the Pope, who had clerical duties in parishes of the city. The College has its origins in the events surrounding the crowning of Henry IV as King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor at the age of six, after the unexpected death of Henry III in 1056. Up until this point secular authorities had significant influence over who was to be appointed Pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor in particular had the special ability to appoint him. This was significant as the aims and views of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Church did not always coincide. Members of what was to become known as the Gregorian Reform took advantage of the new King and his lack of power, and in 1059 declared that the election of the Pope was an affair only for the Church. This was part of a larger power struggle, named the Investiture Controversy, as the Church attempted to gain more control over their clergy, and in doing so gain more influence in the lands and governments they were appointed to. Theological implications aside, its creation represented a significant shift in the balance of power in the Early Medieval world. From the beginning of the 12th century, the College of Cardinals started to meet as a college, when the cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons ceased acting as separate groups.[3]

The Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Sub-Dean are the president and vice-president of the college. Both are elected by and from the cardinals holding suburbicarian dioceses, but the election requires Papal confirmation. Except for presiding, the dean has no power of governance over the cardinals, instead acting as primus inter pares (first among equals).

The Secretary of State, the prefects of the Congregations of the Roman Curia, the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the Vicar General of Rome, and the Patriarchs of Venice and Lisbon, are usually Cardinals, with few, generally temporary, exceptions. The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State requires that appointments to the state's legislative body, the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, be cardinals.[4]

Choosing the Pope[]

Italian cardinals as percentage of total College of Cardinals (1903-2005)
2005 17.09
October 1978 22.50
August 1978 22.80
1963 35.36
1958 35.80
1939 54.80
1922 51.60
1914 50.76
1903 56.25

Since 1 January 1971, cardinals who have reached the age of 80 before the conclave opens have not had a vote in papal elections, under the terms of Pope Paul VI's motu proprio Ingravescentem Aetatem.

The rules for the election of the Roman Pontiff are stated in Universi Dominici Gregis, published by Pope John Paul II on 22 February 1996. It states that cardinals who have reached the age of 80 before the day the see becomes vacant do not have a vote in the Papal election.[2]

Although the rules of the Conclave explicitly say the Pope need not be chosen from among the ranks of the Cardinals (in theory any unmarried Catholic male may be elected Pope), this has been the consistent practice since the election of Pope Urban VI in 1378.

Members of the College of Cardinals[]

The following is the list of all living Cardinals as of 18 December 2009. Cardinals are shown in order of precedence, based on seniority by date of appointment. Eugênio de Araújo Sales is the most senior member of the College by length of service (the Protopriest); he is the last surviving from the 1969 consistory. Angelo Sodano, however, has the highest precedence as a Cardinal Bishop as dean of the College of Cardinals.

Cardinals who have reached the age of 80 are indicated with an asterisk (*). Aloysius Ambrozic will be the next cardinal to lose his right to participate in the conclave on 27 January 2010. The oldest living cardinal is currently Paul Augustin Mayer.

All but thirteen of the Cardinals alive at the death of Pope John Paul II were appointed by him. Three of those thirteen were under 80 years old as of the day of John Paul II's death. One of those three (Joseph Ratzinger) has since been elected Pope as Benedict XVI, another one (Jaime Sin) did not attend the resulting conclave for health reasons and died shortly afterwards, and the third, William Wakefield Baum, turned 80 on 21 November 2006. There are now a total of 183 cardinals, of whom 112 are aged under 80.

There are three ranks of Cardinals: Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priests, and Cardinal Deacons. Almost all Cardinals are also bishops.

Cardinals of the Order of Bishops[]

Titular Bishops of seven suburbicarian sees

Patriarchs of Oriental Rites

Cardinals of the Order of Priests[]

Appointed by Pope Paul VI[]

Consistory of 28 April 1969

  • Eugênio de Araújo Sales* (Brazil) - born 8 November 1920 - Archbishop Emeritus of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal Protopriest since February 2009

Consistory of 5 March 1973

Consistory of 24 May 1976

Appointed by Pope John Paul II[]

Consistory of 30 June 1979

Consistory of 2 February 1983

Consistory of 25 May 1985

  • Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy* (India) - born 5 February 1924 - Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
  • Miguel Obando y Bravo* (Nicaragua) - born 2 February 1926 - Archbishop Emeritus of Managua
  • Paul Mayer* (Germany) - born 23 May 1911 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei
  • Ricardo Vidal (Philippines) - born 6 February 1931 - Archbishop of Cebu
  • Henryk Gulbinowicz* (Poland) - long reported as born 17 October 1928 but announced 2 February 2005 that he had concealed his real age in the wartime conditions of 1944 and was really born in 1923 [1] - Archbishop Emeritus of Wrocław
  • Jozef Tomko* (Slovakia) - born 11 March 1924 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses
  • Andrzej Maria Deskur* (Poland) - born 29 February 1924 - President of the Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate Conception and President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
  • Paul Poupard (France) - born 30 August 1930 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture
  • Friedrich Wetter* (Germany) - born 20 February 1928 - Archbishop Emeritus of Munich and Freising
  • Silvano Piovanelli* (Italy) - born 21 February 1924 - Archbishop Emeritus of Florence
  • Adrianus Johannes Simonis (Netherlands) - born 26 November 1931 - Archbishop Emeritus of Utrecht
  • Bernard Francis Law (USA) - born 4 November 1931 - Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
  • Giacomo Biffi* (Italy) - born 13 June 1928 - Archbishop Emeritus of Bologna

Consistory of 28 June 1988

Consistory of 28 June 1991

  • Edward Idris Cassidy* (Australia) - born 5 July 1924 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
  • Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez (Dominican Republic) - born 31 October 1936 - Archbishop of Santo Domingo
  • José Tomás Sánchez* (Philippines) - born 17 March 1920 - Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy
  • Virgilio Noè* (Italy) - born 30 March 1922 - Vicar General Emeritus for the Vatican City State and Archpriest Emeritus of St. Peter's Basilica
  • Fiorenzo Angelini* (Italy) - born 1 August 1916 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers
  • Roger Mahony (United States) - born 27 February 1936 - Archbishop of Los Angeles
  • Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua* (United States) - born 17 June 1923 - Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia
  • Giovanni Saldarini* (Italy) - born 11 December 1924 - Archbishop Emeritus of Turin
  • Camillo Ruini (Italy) - born 19 February 1931 - Vicar General Emeritus for the Diocese of Rome
  • Ján Chryzostom Korec* (Slovakia) - born 22 January 1924 - Bishop Emeritus of Nitra
  • Henri Schwery (Switzerland) - born 14 June 1932 - Bishop Emeritus of Sion
  • Georg Maximilian Sterzinsky (Germany) - born 9 February 1936 - Archbishop of Berlin

Consistory of 26 November 1994

Consistory of 21 February 1998

  • Jorge Medina Estévez* (Chile) - born 23 December 1926 - Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
  • Darío Castrillón Hoyos* (Colombia) - born 4 July 1929 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy
  • Lorenzo Antonetti* (Italy) - born 31 July 1922 - Pontifical Delegate for the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and President Emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
  • James Francis Stafford (United States) - born 26 July 1932 - Major Penitentiary Emeritus
  • Salvatore De Giorgi (Italy) - born 6 September 1930 - Archbishop Emeritus of Palermo
  • Serafim Fernandes de Araújo* (Brazil) - born 13 August 1924 - Archbishop Emeritus of Belo Horizonte
  • Antonio María Rouco Varela (Spain) - born 24 August 1936 - Archbishop of Madrid
  • Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic (Canada) - born 27 January 1930 - Archbishop Emeritus of Toronto
  • Dionigi Tettamanzi (Italy) - born 14 March 1934 - Archbishop of Milan
  • Polycarp Pengo (Tanzania) - born 5 August 1944 - Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam
  • Christoph Schönborn (Austria) - born 22 January 1945 - Archbishop of Vienna
  • Norberto Rivera Carrera (Mexico) - born 6 June 1942 - Archbishop of Mexico
  • Francis Eugene George (United States) - born 16 January 1937 - Archbishop of Chicago
  • Paul Shan Kuo-hsi* (Taiwan) - born 3 December 1923 - Bishop Emeritus of Kaohsiung
  • Giovanni Cheli* (Italy) - born 4 October 1918 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants
  • Marian Jaworski* (Ukraine) - born 21 August 1926 - Archbishop Emeritus of Lviv
  • Jānis Pujāts (Latvia) - born 14 November 1930 - Archbishop of Riga

Consistory of 21 February 2001

Consistory of 21 October 2003[5]

Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI[]

Consistory of 24 March 2006

  • Agostino Vallini (Italy) - born 17 April 1940 - Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome
  • Jorge Urosa (Venezuela) - born 28 August 1942 - Archbishop of Caracas
  • Gaudencio Borbon Rosales (Philippines) - born 10 August 1932 - Archbishop of Manila
  • Jean-Pierre Ricard (France) - born 25 September 1944 - Archbishop of Bordeaux
  • Antonio Cañizares Llovera (Spain) - born 15 October 1945 - Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
  • Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk (South Korea) - born 7 December 1931 - Archbishop of Seoul
  • Seán Patrick O'Malley (United States) - born 29 June 1944 - Archbishop of Boston
  • Stanisław Dziwisz (Poland) - born 27 April 1939 - Archbishop of Kraków
  • Carlo Caffarra (Italy) - born 1 June 1938 - Archbishop of Bologna
  • Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun (Hong Kong[7]) - born 13 January 1932 - Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong

Consistory of 24 November 2007

  • Agustín García-Gasco y Vicente (Spain) - born 12 February 1931 - Archbishop Emeritus of Valencia
  • Seán Brady (Ireland) - born 16 August 1939 - Archbishop of Armagh
  • Lluís Martínez Sistach (Spain) - born 29 April 1937 - Archbishop of Barcelona
  • André Armand Vingt-Trois (France) - born 7 November 1942 - Archbishop of Paris
  • Angelo Bagnasco (Italy) - born 14 January 1943 - Archbishop of Genoa
  • Théodore-Adrien Sarr (Senegal) - born 28 November 1936 - Archbishop of Dakar
  • Oswald Gracias (India) - born 24 December 1944 - Archbishop of Bombay
  • Francisco Robles Ortega (Mexico) - born 2 March 1949 - Archbishop of Monterrey
  • Daniel DiNardo (United States) - born 23 May 1949 - Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
  • Odilo Pedro Scherer (Brazil) - born 21 September 1949 - Archbishop of São Paulo
  • John Njue (Kenya) - born 1944 - Archbishop of Nairobi
  • Estanislao Esteban Karlic* (Argentina) - born 7 February 1926 - Archbishop Emeritus of Paraná

Cardinals of the Order of Deacons[]

Cardinal Deacons have the right to apply to become Cardinal Priests after ten years as Cardinal Deacons, with the rare exception of Cardinals who are not Bishops. All living former Cardinal Deacons created prior to 2001 have exercised this right.

Appointed by Pope John Paul II[]

Consistory of 21 February 2001

  • Agostino Cacciavillan* (Italy) - born 14 August 1926 - President Emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, Cardinal Protodeacon since March 2008
  • Sergio Sebastiani (Italy) - born 11 April 1931 - President Emeritus of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
  • Zenon Grocholewski (Poland) - born 11 October 1939 - Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
  • Jorge María Mejía* (Argentina) - born 31 January 1923 - Librarian and Archivist Emeritus of the Holy Roman Church
  • Walter Kasper (Germany) - born 5 March 1933 - President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
  • Roberto Tucci* (Italy) - born 19 April 1921 - Priest of Society of Jesus and President Emeritus of the Administrative Committee of Radio Vatican

Consistory of 21 October 2003[5]

  • Jean-Louis Tauran (France) - born 3 April 1943 - President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
  • Renato Raffaele Martino (Italy) - born 23 November 1932 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
  • Francesco Marchisano* (Italy) - born 25 June 1929 - President Emeritus of the Office of Labor of the Apostolic See
  • Julián Herranz Casado (Spain) - born 31 March 1930 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
  • Javier Lozano Barragán (Mexico) - born 26 January 1933 - President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers
  • Attilio Nicora (Italy) - born 16 March 1937 - President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
  • Georges Marie Martin Cottier* (Switzerland) - born 25 April 1922 - Titular Archbishop of Tullia, retired as Pro-Theologian of the Pontifical Household and as Secretary-General of the International Theological Commission
  • Tomás Spidlik* (Czech Republic) - born 17 December 1919 - Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute
  • Stanisław Nagy* (Poland) - born 30 September 1921 - Titular Archbishop of Holar and Professor Emeritus of Theology

Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI[]

Consistory of 24 March 2006

  • William Joseph Levada (United States) - born 15 June 1936 - Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
  • Franc Rodé (Slovenia) - born 23 September 1934 - Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
  • Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo* (Italy) - born 27 August 1925 - Archpriest Emeritus of the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls
  • Albert Vanhoye* (France) - born 23 July 1923 - formerly rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission

Consistory of 24 November 2007

Size of the College of Cardinals[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. CIC 1983, can. 349
  2. 2.0 2.1 John Paul II, Ap. Const. Universi Dominici Gregis in AAS 88 (1996)
  3. Broderick, J.F. 1987. "The Sacred College of Cardinals: Size and Geographical Composition (1099-1986)." Archivum historiae Pontificiae, 25: 8.
  4. Pope John Paul II (2000-11-26). "Fundamental Law of Vatican City State". http://www.vaticanstate.va/NR/rdonlyres/3F574885-EAD5-47E9-A547-C3717005E861/2522/FundamentalLaw1.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-11. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 In 2003 Pope John Paul II announced he was also creating one cardinal secretly (in pectore), which would have taken effect if the appointment had been announced before the Pope's death. There was press speculation that it was his senior personal secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz or else resided in the mainland of the People's Republic of China. However, on 6 April 2005 it was revealed by the Vatican spokesman that Pope John Paul II had not announced the name of this cardinal before witnesses prior to his death and that the appointment was therefore null.
  6. with which the Holy See does not currently maintain diplomatic relations
  7. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, with which the Holy See does not currently maintain diplomatic relations.

External links[]

ca:Col·legi Cardenalici eu:Kolegio Kardenalizio id:Dewan Kardinal lt:Kardinolų kolegija no:Kardinalkollegiet pt:Colégio dos Cardeais ru:Коллегия кардиналов fi:Kardinaalikollegio uk:Колегія кардиналів

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