Enlarge image
Pope Francis meets Benedict XVI
Photo Credit: IMAGO/Vatican Media/ IMAGO/ZUMA Wire
Pope Francis has appointed 20 new cardinals at the Vatican.
The 85-year-old head of the Catholic Church personally donned the crimson cap to almost all of the new cardinals at the ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday.
One of the new dignitaries, Richard Kuuia Baawobr from Ghana, was absent due to health problems.
This time, no bishops from Germany were included in the appointments.
After the ceremony, Francis and the new cardinals visited the German Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
in his monastery house in the Vatican, as announced by the Holy See.
In 2013, the 95-year-old – whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger – was the first pope to resign in many centuries.
There is now speculation that his successor will resign.
With the appointments, Francis can also influence the choice of his successor: up to the age of 80, cardinals have the right to vote in a conclave when decisions are made about a new pope.
Currently, 16 of the 20 new dignitaries are below that age limit.
The College of Cardinals now has a total of 226 men – 132 of them are allowed to vote.
Rumors of a possible resignation
For Francis, who has been in office since March 2013, it was the eighth appointment.
The cardinals he appointed are now in the majority.
The others were still from his predecessors Benedict XVI.
and John Paul II raised to the cardinal status.
The date in the summer month of August is unusual.
A two-day Cardinal Assembly also begins this Monday.
The Pope wants to talk about the new constitution of the Vatican – »Praedicate Gospel« (preach the gospel).
The fact that Francis summoned cardinals from all parts of the world to Rome in the middle of the summer caused rumors of a possible resignation.
The 85-year-old, who is now visibly struggling with age, does not rule out resignation.
The selection of the new cardinals also surprised some.
From this, Francis' line can be read to better integrate dioceses that have received little attention up to now.
As the youngest cardinal at just 48, the Italian Giorgio Marengo is now also wearing the crimson cap.
He works as Apostolic Prefect in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.
“I am very grateful to the Pope for this choice.
She surprised me first and foremost,” said Marengo.
This is a sign of opening up to small communities.
His own Catholic community in Mongolia has fewer than 1,500 believers.
In addition, for example, the archbishops of Singapore, William Goh, and Asunción in Paraguay, Adalberto Martínez Flores, received the dignity of cardinals.
Church historian Johannes Grohe explained: "In recent decades, the College of Cardinals has become increasingly international." Several archbishops from dioceses who traditionally become cardinals were not included this time.
»I also see the appointment as a sign of his proximity to the Amazon region«
more on the subject
Abuse scandal in the Catholic Church: Cardinal Woelki shredded a list of suspected priests
A German is not among the newcomers, but there is a Brazilian with German roots: the Archbishop of Manaus in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, Leonardo Ulrich Steiner.
"I also see the appointment as a sign of his proximity to the Amazon region," said the 71-year-old.
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who is on trial in the Vatican over a financial scandal, was also in the basilica for the appointment.
Cardinals Rainer Maria Woelki, Reinhard Marx and Gerhard Ludwig Müller took part from the German side.
dop/dpa