Pope Francis will appoint 19 new cardinals, including churchmen from Haiti and Burkina Faso
Cardinals, who wear red hats and robes, are the most senior clergymen in the Roman Catholic Church below the Pope.
Sixteen of the new appointees are under 80, making them eligible to enter a conclave to elect the Pope’s successor.
The new cardinals will be formally instated at a ceremony, known as a consistory, on February 22.
The three clergymen over 80 come from Spain, Italy and the Caribbean island of St Lucia. They will assume the title cardinal emeritus.
Pope Francis named the new cardinals during Sunday address to worshippers gathered in St Peter’s Square.
They come from all corners of the world, including Italy, Germany, Britain, Nicaragua, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Chile and the Philippines.
But among those chosen are also men from countries like Haiti, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
The Vatican spokesman said that this was in keeping with Pope Francis’ drive to put the world’s poor at the core of the Church’s mission.
New Cardinals
* Cardinal emeritus, without voting rights
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