With the creation of 21 new cardinals this Saturday, Pope Francis is imprinting his vision on the future of the Catholic Church, particularly concerning the conclave that will elect his successor. Now, 80 percent of the 140 cardinal electors of voting age have been appointed by him, a composition oriented toward distant regions and with a strong Latin American presence.
Since his election, Francis has profoundly altered the composition of the College of Cardinals, reducing the weight of Europe to strengthen that of other continents, especially Asia, which will now have 25 electors (18 percent of the total), and Africa, which rises to 18 electors. This renewal is accompanied by unprecedented appointments, with representatives from countries previously absent from conclaves, such as Mongolia, Iran, and Algeria.
With this 10th consistory, the College of Cardinals reaches a historic number: 254 members, of whom 140 are of voting age (under 80 years old). If a conclave were to take place immediately, it would be the largest ever organized in the history of the Church.
Among the new cardinals is Mykola Bychok, aged only 44, born in Ukraine and serving Greek Catholics in Australia. This young prelate embodies a new generation within the Church. In contrast, the Italian nuncio Angelo Acerbi, aged 99, is an example of longevity in service to the Church.
Six of the new cardinals come from South America, including Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio (Lima, Peru), Jaime Spengler (Porto Alegre, Brazil), and Fernando Chomali (Santiago, Chile). With these appointments, Latin America now has 24 cardinal electors, behind Europe's 55, but far from the 28 Italians present at the 2013 conclave.
Francis is leaving a lasting mark on the Church with these appointments. The cardinals he has chosen will represent 80 percent of the next conclave, but this does not mean they form a monolithic bloc aligned with his ideas. The College remains diverse, reflecting the complexity and multiple sensibilities of the universal Church.
Finally, it is noteworthy that at the last minute, Domenico Battaglia, Archbishop of Naples, was added to the list following the withdrawal of Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur, the Indonesian bishop, who renounced the cardinalate for personal reasons.