21 Cardinals to be created in December Consistory

After praying the Angelus on Sunday, 6 October, Pope Francis announced that he will create 21 cardinals during a consistory on 8 December. The Holy Father asked for prayers for “the new Cardinals, that by confirming their adherence to Christ, the merciful and faithful High Priest, they may help me in my ministry as Bishop of Rome for the good of all God’s holy people”. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s announcement, which he made in Italian.

And now, I am pleased to announce that on 8 December, I will hold a consistory for the appointment of new Cardinals. Their origins reflect the universality of the Church, that continues to proclaim God’s merciful love to all people on earth. Moreover, the inclusion of the new Cardinals in the Diocese of Rome also manifests the indissoluble bond between the See of Peter and the particular Churches spread across the world.

Here are the names of the new cardinals:

• Msgr. Angelo Acerbi, Apostolic Nuncio;

• Msgr. Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio, Archbishop of Lima, Peru;

• Msgr. Vicente Bokalic Iglic, cm, Archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Primate of Argentina;

• Msgr. Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, ofm, Archbishop of Guayaquil, Ecuador;

• Msgr. Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, Archbishop of Santiago, Chile;

• Msgr. Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, svd, Archbishop of Tokyo, Japan;

• Msgr. Pablo Virgilio Siongco David, Bishop of Kalookan, The Philippines;

• Msgr. Ladislav Nemet, svd, Archbishop of Beograd (-Smederevo), Serbia;

• Msgr. Jaime Spengler, ofm, Archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil;

• Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast;

• Msgr. Jean-Paul Vesco, op, Archbishop of Algiers, Algeria;

• Msgr. Paskalis Bruno Syukur, ofm, Bishop of Bogor, Indonesia;

• Msgr. Dominique Mathieu, ofm Conv., Archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, Iran;

• Msgr. Roberto Repole, Archbishop of Turin, Italy;

• Msgr. Baldassare Reina, who from today on, will be Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome;

• Msgr. Francis Leo, Archbishop of Toronto, Canada;

• Msgr. Rolandas Makrickas, Coadjutor Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major;

• Msgr. Mykola Bychok, cssr, Eparch of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainians, Australia;

• Fr Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe, op, Theologian;

• Fr Fabio Baggio, cs, Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development;

• Msgr George Jacob Koovakad, Official of the Secretariat of State, responsible for Papal Travels;

Let us pray for the new Cardinals, that in confirming their commitment to Christ, the merciful and faithful High Priest, they may assist me in my ministry as Bishop of Rome for the good of the holy People of God.