From any latitude

Pope Francis extends and makes the geography of the conclave that will elect his successor ever more global. At the Regina Coeli on 29 May he announced 21 new cardinals, of which 16 are electors, who come from all over the planet, starting with "Suburbs". They will be created in a late summer consistory (August 27) with which the Church will look to the whole world.

There will be five Italians, two of whom, being less than 80 years old, will be able to elect the next Pontiff. They will receive the purple Oscar Cantoni, bishop of Como and Giorgio Marengo, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), who will become the youngest of the College of Cardinals (when he is proclaimed he will be 48 years old). The over 80s are the archbishop emeritus of Cagliari (after being the successor of Monsignor Luigi Bettazzi as pastor of Ivrea) Arrigo Miglio; the professor of Theology Gianfranco Ghirlanda; the canon of San Pietro Fortunato Frezza.

Then there are three heads of Vatican dicasteries: Arthur Roche, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of Congregation for the Clergy; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State and the Vatican Governorate.

The others are: Jean Marc Avelin, archbishop of Marseille (France); Peter Okpaleke, bishop of Ekwulobia (Nigeria); Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, archbishop of Manaus (Brazil); Filipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão, archbishop of Goa and Damao (India); Robert Walter McElroy, bishop of San Diego (USA); Virgilio do Carmo da Silva, archbishop of Dili (East Timor); Anthony Poola, archbishop of Hyderabad (India); Paulo Cezar Costa, archbishop of Brasilia; Richard Kuuia Baawobr, archbishop of Wa (Ghana); William Seng Chye Goh, archbishop of Singapore; Adalberto Martínez Flores, archbishop of Asuncion (Paraguay). Finally, another two over 80: Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal, archbishop emeritus of Cartagena (Colombia); Lucas Van Looy, bishop emeritus of Gent (Belgium).

The list of names confirms the intentions of the Argentine Pope: beyond the three curials, once again Francis chooses bishops from all latitudes, including the most remote and forgotten, thus gradually undermining Italo-centrism and the euro-centrism of the conclave. The College will rise to 229 cardinals, of whom 131 are electors.


Domenico Agasso
NP June / July 2022