VATICAN (CNS): At a consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis created 13 new cardinals, handing the red hat, cardinal’s ring and a scroll formally declaring their new status and assigning them a titular church in Rome to the 11 who were present.
Jose Cardinal Advincula of Capiz, the Philippines, and Cornelius Cardinal Sim, the apostolic vicar of Brunei, were unable to physically attend because of Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) travel restrictions but will receive their birettas and rings at a later date, the Vatican said.
Pope Francis cautioned the new cardinals that “the scarlet of a cardinal’s robes, which is the colour of blood, can, for a worldly spirit, become the colour of a secular ‘eminence’,” the traditional title of respect for a cardinal.
Pope Francis cautioned the new cardinals that “the scarlet of a cardinal’s robes, which is the colour of blood, can, for a worldly spirit, become the colour of a secular ‘eminence’”
The pope warned that if that happens “you will no longer be a pastor close to your people. You will think of yourself only as ‘His Eminence.’ If you feel that, you are off the path.”
The pope said the red must symbolise a wholehearted following of Jesus, who willingly gave his life on the cross to save humanity.
The gospel reading at the service, Mark 10:32-45, included the account of James and John asking Jesus for special honours. “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left,” they said. But Jesus reproaches them.
“We, too, pope and cardinals, must always see ourselves reflected in this word of truth,” Pope Francis explained. “It is a sharpened sword; it cuts, it proves painful, but it also heals, liberates and converts us.”
The Covid-19 pandemic also meant the gathering was unusually small. Each cardinal was accompanied by a priest-secretary and could invite a handful of guests, so there were only about 100 people in the congregation at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
According to canon law, cardinals are created when their names are made public “in the presence of the College of Cardinals.” While many Rome-based cardinals attended the consistory, more members of the college were present online via the Internet.
The Covid-19 pandemic also meant the gathering was unusually small. Each cardinal was accompanied by a priest-secretary and could invite a handful of guests, so there were only about 100 people in the congregation at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Also missing were the courtesy visits, a reception lasting several hours in the early evening when the general public would normally be invited into the Vatican to greet the new cardinals.
In addition to some Rome-based cardinals, the congregation included the pastors or rectors of the 13 titular churches assigned to the new cardinals; this makes them members of the Rome diocesan clergy, which is what the Church’s first cardinals were.
In fact, the formula for the creation of cardinals, recited in Latin by Pope Francis, says, “It chiefly concerns the Church of Rome, but it also affects the entire ecclesial community: We will call certain of our brethren to enter the College of Cardinals, so that they may be united to the Chair of Peter by a closer bond to our apostolic ministry.”
Cardinal Mario Grech of Malta, the secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, addressed the pope on behalf of the new cardinals.
“Convoked in consistory at such a serious time for all humanity because of the pandemic, we want to turn our thoughts to all our brothers and sisters enduring hardship,” the cardinal said.
He prayed that people would react to the pandemic as an “opportunity to rethink our lifestyles, our relationships, the organisation of our societies and, especially, the meaning of our lives.”
The new cardinals came from eight countries: Italy, Malta, the United States, Brunei, the Philippines, Mexico, Rwanda and Chile.
Cardinal Grech also led the others in the recitation of the Creed and of an oath of fidelity and obedience to Christ and his Church and to Pope Francis and his successors.
The new cardinals came from eight countries: Italy, Malta, the United States, Brunei, the Philippines, Mexico, Rwanda and Chile.
With the consistory, the College of Cardinals now has 229 members, 128 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to enter a conclave to elect a new pope. Pope Francis has given the red hat to 57 per cent of electors.
The list of the new cardinals in the order named by the pope includes: 63-year-old Cardinal Grech; Marcello Cardinal Semeraro of Italy, the 72-year-old prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes; Antoine Cardinal Kambanda of Kigali, Rwanda, who will turn 62 on November 10; 72-year-old Wilton Cardinal Gregory of the United States; Cardinal Advincula, who is 68-years-old; 75-year-old Celestino Cardinal Aos Braco of Santiago, Chile; 69-year-old Cardinal Sim; 56-year-old Paolo Cardinal Lojudice of Siena, Italy; Mauro Cardinal Gambetti, the 55-year-old custos of the Sacred Convent of Assisi in Assisi; Felipe Cardinal Arizmendi Esquivel retired bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, who is 80-years-old; retired 80-year-old nuncio, Silvano Cardinal Tomasi of Italy; Raniero Cardinal Cantalamessa of Italy, the 86-year-old preacher of the papal household; and Enrico Cardinal Feroci of Italy, the 80-year-old former director of Caritas Rome.
