By Lisa Zengarini and Tiziana Campisi
The 135 Cardinals Electors of the College of Cardinals hail from 71 different countries across the five continents.
More than three-quarters of them (108) were appointed by Pope Francis, while 22 were created by Benedict XVI, and five by St John Paul II, making them the “veterans” of the Conclave. They are: French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Croatian Cardinal Josip Bozanić , Cardinal Vinko Puljić from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana.
A less euro-centric body
During his 12 years of pontificate Pope Francis significantly reshaped the College of Cardinals, making it a less Euro-centric and a more international body. This reflected both the late Pope’s personal inclination to shift the centre of gravity of Catholicism toward the Global South, with a focus on the “peripheries”, and the broader trend that the Church of the future will likely have an increasingly non-European face.
For the first time, 12 nations will be represented by their native Cardinal electors. They include: Cardinals Chibly Langlois from Haiti; Arlindo Furtado Gomes from Cape Verde; Dieudonné Nzapalainga from the Central African Republic; John Ribat from Papua New Guinea; Sebastian Francis from Malaysia; Anders Arborelius from Sweden; Jean-Claude Hollerich from Luxembourg; Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva from Timor Leste; William Seng Chye Goh from Singapore; Adalberto Martínez Flores from Paraguay; Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla from South Sudan, and Cardinal Ladislav Nemet from Serbia.
53 Cardinals from Europe
However, Europe still carries a significant weight in the College of Cardinals. The old continent is represented by 53 Cardinal electors (some of whom head Dioceses and Archdioceses in non-European countries, or serve as Apostolic Nuncios abroad or in the Curia), with Italy still having the largest number (19), followed by France (6) and Spain (5).
37 Cardinals from the Americas, 23 from Asia, 18 from Africa and 4 from Oceania
37 Cardinal electors are from the Americas (16 from North America, 4 from Central America, and 17 from South America), 23 from Asia, 18 from Africa, and 4 from Oceania
Thus, while the European Cardinals still represent the majority of those who will gather in the Conclave, the “rest of the world” now clearly surpasses Europe, with the Americas as a whole significantly increasing its “weight”.
Although regional representation alone won’t determine the outcome of the election of the new Pope, which is also influenced by other critical factors, the geographical aspect cannot be overlooked given the global impact of the Pope’s role.
The ages of the Cardinal electors
Regarding the age of the Electors, the youngest Cardinal in the College is the Australian Ukrainian-born Mikola Bychok, aged 45, while the oldest is the Spaniard Carlos Osoro Sierra, aged 79.
Six Cardinals were born in the Seventies : they are Italian Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, the Vicar of the Diocese of Rome who will turn 55 this coming November; Canadian Frank Leo (1971); Lithuanian Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, the Coadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (1972); Indian George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (1973); Portuguese Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar (1973), and Italian-born Giorgio Marengo (1974), Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, which will be represented for the first time ever in a Conclave.
Other age groups include 50 Cardinals born in the Fourties, 47 in the Fifties ,and 31 in the Sixties. The most represented birth year group is 1947, with 13 Cardinals aged or approaching 78.
33 Cardinals belonging to religious orders
Among the Cardinal electors, 33 belong to 18 different religious orders. The Salesians are the most represented with five members: Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Virgilio Do Carmo da Silva, Ángel Fernández Artime, Cristóbal López Romero, and Daniel Sturla Berhouet. Four belong the Order of Friars Minor (Luis Cabrera Herrera, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Jaime Spengler, and Leonardo Steiner) and four are Jesuits (Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Michael Czerny, Jean-Claude Hollerich, and Ángel Rossi). Three are Conventual Franciscans (François-Xavier Bustillo, Mauro Gambetti, and Dominique Mathieu).
Attending the Conclave will also be two Dominicans (Timothy Radcliffe and Jean-Paul Vesco), two Redemptorists (Mykola Bychok and Joseph Tobin), two members of the Divine Word Missionaries (Tarcisio Kikuchi and Ladislav Nemet), and one each from several other Congregations: Augustinian Robert Prevost, Capuchin Fridolin Ambongo Besungu Discalced Carmelite Anders Arborelius, Cistercian Orani João Tempesta, Claretian Vicente Bokalic Iglic, Pius X Secular Institute member Gérald Lacroix, Lazarist Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Consolata Missionary Giorgio Marengo, Missionary of the Sacred Heart John Ribat, Scalabrinian Fabio Baggio, and Spiritan Dieudonné Nzapalainga.
Two absentees
Of the 135 Cardinals eligible to vote, two have confirmed they won’t be able to attend the Conclave for health reasons bringing the total down to 133. – Vatican News
