Consistory for installing of new cardinals

At the moment there are 228 cardinals. 121 are under 80. However, Cardinal Sarr from Senegal will turn 80 at the end of the month. 21 cardinal electors were picked by John Paul II, 56 by Benedict XVI, and 44 by Pope Francis. Pope Francis has celebrated three consistories. His choices reflect his intentions of giving weight to distant regions of the world in the next conclave. This means there are now less cardinal electors from Europe and North America, and more from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Italy still tops the list with 25 cardinal electors. The United States is second with 10. France and Brazil both have 5, and Mexico, Spain, Poland and India have 4. See video here

As St. Peter's Basilica was enveloped in an emotional and solemn atmosphere, Pope Francis reminded the new cardinals of a crucial issue in the Gospel: Loving thy neighbor includes loving your enemy. “In God’s heart there are no enemies. God only has sons and daughters. We are the ones who raise walls, build barriers and label people. God has sons and daughters, precisely so that no one will be turned away. Our Father does not wait for us to be good before he loves the world, he does not wait for us to be a little bit better or more perfect before he loves us; he loves us because he chose to love us, he loves us because he has made us his sons and daughters.” See video here

After the consistory, Pope Francis and the 17 new cardinals visited Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at his home at Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican. Benedict received them with a smiling face, and greeted them one by one. After that, he wished them luck for their new appointment as cardinals. See video here

The list of new cardinals includes the following:
Archbishop Mario Zenari, Italy (Papal Nuncio to Syria).
Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Central African Republic
Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra, Spain
Archbishop Sérgio da Rocha, Brazil
Archbishop Blase J. Cupich, U.S.A.
Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario, Bangladesh
Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, Venezuela
Archbishop Jozef De Kesel, Belgium
Archbishop Maurice Piat, Mauritius
Archbishop Kevin Joseph Farrell, U.S.A.
Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, Mexico
Archbishop John Ribat, Papua New Guinea
Archbishop Joseph William Tobin U.S.A.
Archbishop Anthony Soter Fernandez, Archbishop Emeritus of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Archbishop Renato Corti, Archbishop Emeritus of Novara Italy
Archbishop Sebastian Koto Khoarai, Bishop Emeritus of Mohale’s Hoek Lesotho
Father Ernest Simoni, priest of the Archdiocese of Shkodrë-Pult, Scutari – Albania.