Pope Francis Names 20 New Cardinals From 13 Countries Of The World

For the second time during his papacy, Pope Francis has announced a new group of bishops and archbishops set to become cardinals, and they come from all over the world. Pope Francis said on Sunday that he would hold a meeting of cardinals on February 14 "during which I will name 15 new Cardinals who, coming from 13 countries from every continent, manifest the indissoluble links between the Church of Rome and the particular Churches present in the world," according to Vatican Radio.

New cardinals are always important because they set the tone in the church and also elect the next pope, CNN senior Vatican analyst John L. Allen said. They are sometimes referred to as the princes of the Catholic Church.

The new cardinals come from countries such as Ethiopia, New Zealand and Myanmar. "This is a pope who very much wants to reach out to people on the margins, and you clearly see that in this set," Allen said. "You're talking about cardinals from typically overlooked places, like Cape Verde, the Pacific island of Tonga, Panama, Thailand, Uruguay."

But for the second time, no Americans made the list. "Francis' pattern is very clear: He wants to go to the geographical peripheries rather than places that are already top-heavy with cardinals," Allen said.

In addition to the 15 new cardinals, five retired archbishops and bishops will also be honoured as cardinals.

The 20 New Cardinals Includes:

•     Archbishop Dominique Mamberti (France)
•     Archbishop Manuel Jose Macario do Nascimento Clemente (Portugal)
•     Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel (Ethiopia)
•     Archbishop John Atcherley Dew (New Zealand)
•     Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli (Italy)
•     Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon (Vietnam)
•     Archbishop Alberto Suarez Inda (Mexico)
•     Archbishop Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar)
•     Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij (Thailand)
•     Archbishop Francesco Montenegro (Italy).
•     Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet (Uruguay)
•     Archbishop Ricardo Blazquez Perez (Spain).
•     Bishop Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan (Panama)
•     Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, (Capo Verde).
•     Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafia (Tonga)
•     Archbishop emeritus Jose de Jesus Pimiento Rodríguez (Colombia)*
•     Titular Archbishop Luigi De Magistris (Italy)*
•     Titular Archbishop Karl-Joseph Rauber (Germany)*
•     Archbishop emeritus Luis Hector Villalba (Argentina)*
•     Bishop emeritus Julio Duarte Langa (Mozambique)*

* Cardinal emeritus, without voting rights

Source: CNN / BBC