Pope Francis to create 21 new cardinals

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals at the next Consistory, which will take place on Saturday, 27 August. The announcement was made by the Holy Father himself after he recited the Regina Caeli with the faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, 29 May.

On Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 August, a meeting will be held of all the Cardinals to reflect on the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, and on Saturday 27 August, I will hold a Consistory for the creation of new cardinals. Here are the names of the new cardinals:

1. Archbishop Arthur Roche — Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments;

2. Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik — Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy;

3. Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, lc — President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State;

4. Archbishop Jean-Marc Aveline — Metropolitan Archbishop of Marseille, France;

5. Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke of Ekwulobia, Nigeria;

6. Archbishop Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, ofm, of Manaus, Brazil;

7. Archbishop Filipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão of Goa and Damão, India;

8. Bishop Robert Walter McElroy of San Diego, United States of America;

9. Archbishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva, sdb, of Dili, East Timor;

10. Bishop Oscar Cantoni of Como, Italy;

11. Archbishop Anthony Poola of Hyderabad, India;

12. Archbishop Paulo Cezar Costa, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Brasília, Brazil;

13. Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr m. afr., of Wa, Ghana;

14. Archbishop William Seng Chye Goh of Singapore, Singapore;

15. Archbishop Adalberto Martínez Flores, Metropolitan of Asunción, Paraguay;

16. Bishop Giorgio Marengo, imc, Prefect Apostolic of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Along with the above, I will add to the members of the College of Cardinals:

1. Archbishop Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal, Archbishop emeritus of Cartagena, Colombia;

2. Archbishop Lucas Van Looy, sdb, Archbishop emeritus of Ghent, Belgium;

3. Archbishop Arrigo Miglio, Archbishop emeritus of Cagliari, Italy;

4. Fr Gianfranco Ghirlanda sj, — former Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

5. Msgr. Fortunato Frezza — Canon of Saint Peter.

Let us pray for the new Cardinals, that, confirming their bond to Christ, they may help me in my ministry as Bishop of Rome for the good of all the Holy People faithful to God.