How new cardinals are changing the Roman Catholic Church

ON AUGUST 27TH, 20 priests and bishops will kneel before Pope Francis in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to become cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. This will be the eighth tranche picked by the pope, who is aged 85. The cardinals, who are also known as the “princes of the church”, will eventually choose his successor, almost certainly from among their ranks. The group that gathers to pick the next pope will be markedly different from the conclave that selected Francis in 2013, thanks to his choices. How have his cardinals changed the church?

Canon law, the set of rules that governs Roman Catholicism, puts no limit on the number of cardinals a pope may choose. Pontiffs, assuming they are in the position for some time, usually choose most of the cardinals who pick their successor. Since 1975 only cardinals under the age of 80 have been allowed to vote on the next pope. Of the 20 new cardinals, 16 are of voting age; for the rest, the title is honorary. With these, Francis will have picked 82 of the 132 electors.