(Rome) Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals on Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the college of cardinals and further strengthening his imprint on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor.
Among those appointed by history’s first Latin American pope were the heads of several major dioceses and archdioceses in South America. They are the leaders of the Catholic Church in Santiago del Estero, Argentina; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Lima, Peru.
We also find the Archbishop of Toronto, Mgr Francis Leo, the only Canadian to be part of this prestigious list.
The 53-year-old man was born in Montreal. He was previously vicar general and moderator of the curia of the Archdiocese of Montreal and auxiliary bishop of Montreal. He has been Archbishop of Toronto since March 2023.
“I count on the prayers of the faithful of Toronto that I may be a worthy servant of the Lord Jesus in the exercise of my responsibilities as a member of the College of Cardinals and that I continue to fulfill my primary role as shepherd of the faithful of Archdiocese of Toronto,” Archbishop Leo said in a written statement.
The new cardinals will receive their red hats during a special ceremony, called a consistory, on December 8, an important feast day that officially marks the start of the Christmas season at the Vatican.
Before Sunday’s announcement, the head of the Catholic Church had already named 92 cardinals under the age of 80, making them eligible to vote in a conclave. For comparison, Pope Benedict XVI appointed 24 and six cardinals were appointed by John Paul II.
“The Sacred College will have 256 cardinals on the evening of December 8, including 141 electors,” specifies a Vatican press release.
There we will find “both the youngest Cardinal Mykola Bychok, aged 44, Greek-Catholic prelate of Melbourne of the Ukrainians and the oldest, the apostolic nuncio Angelo Acerbi, aged 99”, who is personal representative of the pope.
Other Canadian cardinals include Gérald Lacroix of the Archdiocese of Quebec, Michael Czerny, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Promotion of Human Development, and Marc Ouellet, the former prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops.