The
College of Cardinals (or
Cardinalate) is the body of all
cardinals of the
Roman Catholic Church.
A function of the college is to advise the
pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary
consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a
pope as a
papal conclave to elect a successor. The college has no ruling power except during the
sede vacante (papal vacancy) period, and even then its powers are extremely limited by the terms of the current law, which is laid down in the
Apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis.
Historically, cardinals were the
clergy of the city of
Rome, serving the
Bishop of Rome as the
Pope, who had clerical duties in
parishes of the city. The College has its origins in the events surrounding the crowning of
Henry IV as
King of Germany and
Holy Roman Emperor at the age of six, after the unexpected death of
Henry III in 1056. Up until this point secular authorities had significant influence over who was to be appointed Pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor in particular had the special ability to appoint him. This was significant as the aims and views of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Church did not always coincide. Members of what was to become known as the
Gregorian Reform took advantage of the new King and his lack of power, and in 1059 declared that the election of the Pope was an affair only for the Church. This was part of a larger power struggle, named the
Investiture Controversy, as the Church attempted to gain more control over their clergy, and in doing so gain more influence in the lands and governments they were appointed to. Theological implications aside, its creation represented a significant shift in the balance of power in the Early Medieval world. From the beginning of the 12th century, the College of Cardinals started to meet as a college, when the cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons ceased acting as separate groups.
The
Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Sub-Dean are the
president and
vice-president of the college. Both are elected by and from the cardinals holding
suburbicarian dioceses, but the election requires Papal confirmation. Except for presiding, the dean has no power of governance over the cardinals, instead acting as
primus inter pares (first among equals).
The
Secretary of State, the prefects of the
Congregations of the
Roman Curia, the
Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the
Vicar General of Rome, and the
Patriarchs of Venice and
Lisbon, are usually Cardinals, with few, generally temporary, exceptions. The Fundamental Law of
Vatican City State requires that appointments to the state's
legislative body, the
Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, be cardinals.
Choosing the Pope
Since 1 January 1971, cardinals over the age of 80 when the conclave opens have not had a vote in papal elections, under the terms of
Pope Paul VI's
motu proprio Ingravescentem Aetatem.
The rules for the election of the Roman Pontiff are stated in
Universi Dominici Gregis, published by
Pope John Paul II on 22 February 1996. It states that cardinals over the age of 80 on the day the see becomes vacant do not have a vote in the Papal election.
Although the rules of the Conclave explicitly say the Pope need not be chosen from among the ranks of the Cardinals (in theory
any unmarried Catholic male may be elected Pope), this has been the consistent practice since the election of
Pope Urban VI in 1378.
Members of the College of Cardinals
The following is the list of all living Cardinals as of 25 June 2009. Cardinals are shown in order of precedence, based on seniority by date of appointment.
Eugênio de Araújo Sales is the most senior member of the College by length of service (the Protopriest); he is the last surviving from the 1969 consistory.
Angelo Sodano, however, has the highest precedence as a Cardinal Bishop as dean of the College of Cardinals.
Cardinals aged over 80 are indicated with an asterisk (*).
Józef Glemp will be the next cardinal to lose his right to participate in the conclave on 18 December 2009. The oldest living cardinal is currently
Paul Augustin Mayer.
All but thirteen of the Cardinals alive at the death of
Pope John Paul II were appointed by him. Three of those thirteen were under 80 years old as of the day of John Paul II's death. One of those three (
Joseph Ratzinger) has since been elected Pope as
Benedict XVI, another one (
Jaime Sin) did not attend the resulting conclave for health reasons and died shortly afterwards, and the third,
William Wakefield Baum, turned 80 on 21 November 2006. There are now a total of 185 cardinals, of whom 113 are aged under 80.
There are three ranks of Cardinals:
Cardinal Bishops,
Cardinal Priests, and
Cardinal Deacons. Almost all Cardinals are also
bishops.
Cardinals of the Order of Bishops
Titular Bishops of seven suburbicarian seesPatriarchs of Oriental RitesCardinals of the Order of Priests
Consistory of 28 April 1969Consistory of 5 March 1973Consistory of 24 May 1976Consistory of 30 June 1979Consistory of 2 February 1983Consistory of 25 May 1985- Henryk Gulbinowicz* (Poland) - long reported as born 17 October 1928 but announced 2 February 2005 that he had concealed his real age in the wartime conditions of 1944 and was really born in 1923 - Archbishop Emeritus of Wrocław
Consistory of 28 June 1988Consistory of 28 June 1991Consistory of 26 November 1994Consistory of 21 February 1998Consistory of 21 February 2001Consistory of 21 October 2003[In 2003 Pope John Paul II announced he was also creating one cardinal secretly (in pectore), which would have taken effect if the appointment had been announced before the Pope's death. There was press speculation that it was his senior personal secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz or else resided in the mainland of the People's Republic of China. However, on 6 April 2005 it was revealed by the Vatican spokesman that Pope John Paul II had not announced the name of this cardinal before witnesses prior to his death and that the appointment was therefore null.]Consistory of 24 March 2006Consistory of 24 November 2007Cardinals of the Order of Deacons
Cardinal Deacons have the right to apply to become Cardinal Priests after ten years as Cardinal Deacons, with the rare exception of Cardinals who are not Bishops. All living former Cardinal Deacons created prior to 2001 have exercised this right.
Consistory of 21 February 2001Consistory of 21 October 2003- Tomás Spidlik* (Czech Republic) - born 17 December 1919 - Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute
- Stanisław Nagy* (Poland) - born 30 September 1921 - Titular Archbishop of Holar and Professor Emeritus of Theology
Consistory of 24 March 2006Consistory of 24 November 2007Size of the College of Cardinals
See also
