Pope Francis appoints new cardinals, including two Brazilians | world and science

Pope Francis appoints 20 new cardinalsAndreas Solaro/AFP

Posted on 08/27/2022 14:50

Pope Francis presided over the eighth session of his pontificate on Saturday afternoon, creating 20 new cardinals, 16 of whom are under the age of eighty, and thus will be electors of the future Conclave. There are four non-voters for exceeding the age limit. Among the new cardinals are Brazilians, Archbishop of Brasilia, Dom Paulo Cesar Costa, and Archbishop of Manaus, Dom Leonardo Steiner.

One by one, new cardinals approached the pope’s chair to receive the cardinal’s symbols on their knees: red bonnet, hat, ring, bull with title attribution / diaconia. For the first time, four countries will be represented at the College of Cardinals: Mongolia, Paraguay, Singapore and East Timor.

In the homily, the Pope spoke of the spirit that should revive the mission of cardinals: openness to all the peoples of the earth and concern for the little ones, those who are great before God. “The cardinal loves the Church, always with the same spiritual fire, whether in matters great or small; whether in an encounter with the great of this world, or with the little ones, who are great before God.”

The reason for the canonization of two of the Blessed was also voted on: John Baptiste Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza, founder of the Congregation of Saint Charles Missionaries and the Congregation of the Nuns of Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo, known as Scalabrini; and Artemids Zatti, a laity of the Salesians

On Monday and Tuesday 29 and 30, the Pope held a reflection by cardinals from all over the world on the “Apostolic Constitution Provision for Evangelization”, promulgated on March 19, which includes and organizes the many reforms that have already been implemented in recent years in the country . The Roman Curia. In the morning, the Holy See’s media office announced the details of participation and the organization of work. It reads in a statement that among the 197 currently considered present, in addition to the cardinals, there will be the Patriarchs of the East and the Chiefs of State and Secretary of State.

Many consider the event as a “pre-meeting”, already considering the possibility of Francis’ resignation. This Saturday, the cardinals in the Vatican unanimously rejected this view. “I do not believe these rumors, even now that I have seen him in person. We will have Pope Francis for a long time now,” said Archbishop Emeritus of Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal. “The Holy Father is pure and in good health. He only told me that he felt some pain in his knee, but that I saw him in full capacity to perform his duties.”