List of current cardinals

Cardinals are senior members of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome. They are typically ordained bishops and generally hold important roles within the church, such as leading prominent archdioceses or heading dicasteries within the Roman Curia. Cardinals are chosen by the pope and formally created in a consistory, and one of their foremost duties is the election of a new pope – invariably from among their number, although not strictly a requirement – when the Holy See is vacant (sede vacante), following the death or resignation of a pope. Collectively, they constitute the College of Cardinals.[1][2]

Under current ecclesiastical law, as defined by the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis (1996), only cardinals who have not passed their 80th birthdays on the day on which the Holy See becomes vacant are eligible to take part in a papal conclave to elect a new pope.[3] The same apostolic constitution specifies that no more than 120 cardinals may take part in a conclave, but makes no provision for there being more than 120 eligible cardinal electors,[3] a number that has often been exceeded.[4] Cardinals may be created in pectore (lit. 'in the breast'), in which case the pope does not reveal their identities; they are not entitled to the privileges of a cardinal until their names are published by the pope. The creations of any such cardinals whose names have not been revealed before the pope's death or resignation automatically lapse.[1][5]

As of 8 September 2025, there are 248 cardinals, 128 of whom are cardinal electors. The most recent consistory for the creation of cardinals was held on 7 December 2024, when Pope Francis created 21 cardinals, including 20 cardinal electors.[6] Vinko Puljić was the most recent cardinal elector to turn 80, on 8 September 2025; Antonio Cañizares Llovera will be the next cardinal elector to turn 80, on 14 October 2025. The most recent death of a cardinal was that of Estanislao Esteban Karlic on 8 August 2025, at the age of 99.[7]

  1. ^ a b "The College of Cardinals General Documentazion [sic]". Holy See Press Office. 17 February 2014. The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  2. ^ Sägmüller, Johannes Baptist (1913). "Cardinal" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. ^ a b Pope John Paul II (22 February 1996). "Universi Dominici Gregis" (Apostolic constitution). Holy See. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  4. ^ Wooden, Cindy (8 October 2024). "Statistically speaking: How pope's choices change College of Cardinals". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  5. ^ Boudinhon, Auguste (1913). "In Petto" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  6. ^ "Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of 21 New Cardinals, 30.09.2023". Holy See Press Office. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  7. ^ "A los 99 años falleció el cardenal Estanislao Karlic". AICA (in Spanish). 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.