Pope Francis to Create 13 New Cardinals in Oct. 5 Consistory

Pope Francis said Sept. 1 that 'their origin expresses the missionary vocation of the Church, which continues to proclaim the merciful love of God to all people on earth.'

Pope Francis leads the Angelus Sept. 1 from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's Square.
Pope Francis leads the Angelus Sept. 1 from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's Square. (photo: TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images)

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will create 13 new cardinals in a consistory Oct. 5. Among them are 10 who are eligible to vote in a future conclave.

The Pope announced his intention to add to the College of Cardinals after leading the Angelus Sept. 1 from his window overlooking St. Peter’s Square. The men come from North America, Central America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. No one from the United States was selected.

The College of Cardinals currently has 215 members, 118 of whom are electors.

Pope Francis said Sept. 1 that "their origin expresses the missionary vocation of the Church, which continues to proclaim the merciful love of God to all people on earth."

Among those to be elevated to cardinal is Canadian Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, the head of the Migrants and Refugees section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

The others are:

  • Spanish Archbishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, the prefect of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,
  • Portuguese Archbishop José Tolentino Mendonca, librarian of the Holy Roman Church;
  • Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo;
  • Archbishop Cristobal Lopez Romero of Rabat, Morocco;
  • Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta, Indonesia;
  • Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini of Huehuetenango, Guatemala;
  • Archbishop Juan de la Caridad Garcia Rodriguez of Havana, Cuba;
  • Archbishop Jean Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg;
  • Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, Italy;
  • Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald, emeritus of Nepte, Tunisia, a former president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue;
  • Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevicius, emeritus of Kaunas, Lithuania; and
  • Bishop Eugenio Dal Corso, emeritus of Benguela, Angola.

Archbishops Fitzgerald and Temkevisius and Bishop Dal Corso, are over the age of 80, and therefore ineligible to vote in a conclave, but who, Pope Francis said, "have distinguished themselves for their service to the Church.”