Pope Francis Appoints 21 New Cardinals, Including Church’s Oldest and Youngest

Pope Francis has appointed 21 new cardinals, further shaping the future of the Catholic Church by expanding the College of Cardinals, the body responsible for electing his successor. This new group includes representatives from regions where the Church is seeing growth, particularly in Africa and South America.

Among the newly appointed are two African leaders: Monsignor Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and Monsignor Jean-Paul Vesco, Bishop of Algiers, Algeria. Asia was also recognized, continuing the Church’s focus on regions experiencing spiritual and demographic growth.

The oldest cardinal on the list is Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old retired Vatican diplomat, while the youngest is 44-year-old Bishop Mykola Bychok of Melbourne, representing the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The newly appointed cardinals will receive their red hats during a consistory ceremony on December 8, a significant feast day that marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Rome. This will be the 10th such consistory under Pope Francis, making it one of the most significant in terms of increasing the number of cardinal-electors—those under the age of 80 eligible to vote for the next pope.

As of late September, the number of cardinal-electors stood at 122, and with this new group, the total rises to 142. Although traditionally the voting body is capped at 120, Pope Francis has temporarily exceeded this limit to keep the College of Cardinals vibrant and representative.

Notable appointments from South America include the heads of several key dioceses: Vicente Bokalic Iglic, Archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina; Jaime Spengler, Archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil; Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib, Archbishop of Santiago, Chile; Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, Archbishop of Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio, Archbishop of Lima, Peru.