The Pope reinforces his succession with 21 new cardinals from different countries

First modification: 07/09/2023 – 15:05

Francis announced by surprise the celebration of this new consistory, on September 30, after the Sunday Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace and assured that these appointments “express the universality of the Church” because it is distributed throughout the planet.

Of these 21 new cardinals, 18 would have the right to vote in a future and eventual conclave to succeed Francis, being less than 80 years old, as stipulated by Canon Law. Three exceed that age, but the pope wanted to highlight his “service to the Church” in this way.

Among these last “emeritus” cardinals are the Venezuelan Diego Padrón Sánchez, archbishop emeritus of Cumaná; the Capuchin friar Luis Pascual Dri, confessor of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Pompeii in Buenos Aires and the Italian nuncio Agostino Marchetto.

In the new appointments there are two other Argentines, starting with the new prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, Víctor Manuel Fernández “Tucho”, a personal friend of the pontiff, as well as the archbishop of Córdoba, Monsignor Ángel Sixto Rossi.

In addition, the archbishop of Bogotá, the Colombian Luis Rueda Aparicio, will receive the purple.

The Spaniards are the new Archbishop of Madrid, Monsignor José Cobo; the major rector of the Salesian Congregation, Ángel Fernández Artime, and François-Xavier Bustillo, who is Bishop of Ajaccio in France, on the island of Corsica (south).

The future “papables” come from all continents and there are also several nuncios, diplomats from the Holy See, and members of the Roman Curia.

For example, they include the prefect of the Department for Bishops, the American Robert Francis Prevost; that of Oriental Churches, the Italian Claudio Gugerotti, or the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

Among the cardinal diplomats will be the apostolic nuncio in San Marino, Emil Paul Tscherrig, or the French Christophe Pierre, representative of the Holy See in the United States.

The Archbishop of Cape Town, the South African Stephen Brislin will also be made cardinals; the one from Malaysia Penang, Sebastian Francis; Hong Kong’s Stephen Chow Sau-yan; the one from Juba, the Sudanese Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, or the assistant from Lisbon, Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar.

The Polish Grzegorz Rys, Archbishop of Lodz, and the Tanzanian Protase Rugambwa, Coadjutor Archbishop of Tabora, will also appear.

With EFE