Pope Francis has appointed 21 new cardinals, expanding the College of Cardinals significantly and reinforcing his influence within the Church.
Among the new appointments are Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old retired Vatican diplomat who once survived a six-week hostage situation in Colombia, and Bishop Mykola Bychok, the 44-year-old head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Melbourne.
Pope Francis has expanded the geographic diversity of the College.
In addition to Bychok, two new cardinals represent Africa: Monsignor Ignace Bessi Dogbo, archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and Monsignor Jean-Paul Vesco, bishop of Algiers, Algeria.
These appointments underscore the Church’s growth in Africa, contrasting with a single new cardinal from North America, Francis Leo, archbishop of Toronto.
Bychok’s selection reflects the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The new cardinals will receive their red hats during a consistory on December 8, coinciding with a significant feast day marking the start of the Christmas season in Rome.
This will be Francis’ 10th consistory and the largest influx of voting-age cardinals during his 11-year papacy.
Currently, there are 122 cardinal-electors, which will rise to 142 with this new appointment. Notably, Acerbi is the only new cardinal over the voting age of 80.
The new cardinals also include prominent figures from South America, such as archbishops from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Francis has emphasized inclusivity, bringing in leaders from various global regions, including Monsignor Dominique Joseph Mathieu from Tehran and Monsignor Paskalis Bruno Syukor from Indonesia, both of whom are members of the Franciscan order.
Christopher Bellitto, a church historian, remarked on Francis’s commitment to ensuring that Catholic leaders from diverse backgrounds have a voice. The new appointments reflect the pope’s intent to amplify representation from the Church’s peripheries, continuing a tradition of inclusivity among the Church’s leadership.