Post #81

Excerpt from Western Catholic Reporter: Pope names 24 new cardinals

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict named 24 new cardinals Oct. 20, including 10 Italians and four Africans.

The appointments bolster the strength of the Vatican Curia within the College of Cardinals. Many of the Italians to receive the red hat hold curial offices that are traditionally occupied by cardinals.

The pope announced the names at the end of his weekly general audience Oct. 20 and said he would formally install the cardinals during a special consistory at the Vatican Nov. 20.

"The universality of the Church is reflected in the list of new cardinals," the pope said. “In fact, they come from various parts of the world and fulfill different tasks in the service of the Holy See or in direct contact with the people of God as fathers and pastors of particular churches.”

The new cardinals come from 13 countries on five continents. The pope named 10 curial officials -- a higher number than expected -- along with 10 residential archbishops and four prelates over the age of 80. One unusual aspect of the pope's list was that two of the residential archbishops were retired.

The November ceremony will mark the third time Pope Benedict has created cardinals since his election in April 2005. After the consistory, he will have appointed about 40 per cent of the cardinals currently under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.

Thirteen of the voting-age cardinals will be American -- matching a historically high number for the United States – two will be Canadians and 25 will be Italians.

The consistory will leave the College of Cardinals with 203 members, a new record. Of those, 121 will be under age 80, one more than a numerical limit of 120 that has often been waived. Seven cardinals will turn 80 over the next six months.
The pope named four cardinals who are over the age of 80, prelates he said were "distinguished for their generosity and dedication in service of the Church."

Here is the list of the 24 cardinals-designate, in the order in which the pope announced them Oct. 20:

■Italian Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints Causes, a Salesian, 72.
■Coptic Patriarch Antonios Naguib of Alexandria, Egypt, 75.
■Guinean Archbishop Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, 65.
■Italian Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, archpriest of Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, 76.
■Italian Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 75.
■U.S. Archbishop Raymond Burke, head of Apostolic Signature, 62.
■Swiss Archbishop Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, 60.
■Italian Archbishop Paolo Sardi, pro-patron of Knights of Malta, 76.
■Italian Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, 66.
■Italian Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, a Scalabrinian, 75.
■Italian Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, 68.
■Zambian Archbishop Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, retired archbishop of Lusaka, 79.
■Ecuadorean Archbishop Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, retired archbishop of Quito, 76.
■Congolese Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, 71.
■Italian Archbishop Paolo Romeo of Palermo, 72.
■U.S. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, 69.
■Brazilian Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, 73.
■Polish Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, 60.
■Sri Lankan Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don of Colombo, 62.
■German Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, 57.
■Spanish Archbishop Jose Manuel Estepa Llaurens, former military ordinary of Spain, 84.
■Italian Bishop Elio Sgreccia, retired president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, 82.
■German Msgr. Walter Brandmuller, retired president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, 81.
■Italian Msgr. Domenico Bartolucci, retired director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, 93.

Source:
http://www.wcr.ab.ca/WCRThisWeek/Stories/tabid/61/entryid/86/Default.aspx