Meet the Cardinals

BLOG Meet the Cardinals
Loris Capovilla – Secretary of John XXIII February 21, 2014 By Francis X. Rocca, Catholic News Service, VATICAN CIT (CNS) When the freshly named patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, chose 37-year-old Father Loris Capovilla as his private secretary in 1953, a skeptical adviser told the cardinal that the priest looked too sickly to bear the strain of his new job."Then he'll die as my secretary," replied the future pope, now known as Blessed John … read more Kelvin Felix – Castries, Antilles February 20, 2014 By Raymond Syms, Catholic News Service, PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (CNS) Even as he prepares to receive a red biretta from the hands of Pope Francis, Cardinal-designate Kelvin Felix hopes he can continue his ministry as a "country parish priest."But he admitted he may have a few new assignments from Pope Francis.The Dominica-born prelate, ordained in 1956, is the first cardinal to be named … read more Fernando Aguilar – Pamplona, Spain February 19, 2014 By Ezra Fieser, Catholic News Service, SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) In naming Spanish Archbishop Fernando Sebastian Aguilar a cardinal, Pope Francis chose an outspoken leader who played an important role in developing the positions of the Spanish church over a career that has spanned six decades.At 84, Cardinal-designate Sebastian, retired archbishop of Pamplona, will be the …… read more Philippe Ouedraogo – Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso February 18, 2014 By Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service, OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (CNS) When Archbishop Philippe Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou was told he had been named a cardinal Jan. 12, he thought it was someone playing a joke.The telephone call from Rome was in Italian, a language the prelate hardly understood, and he had not been notified of the pope's decision in advance."I asked the caller what the pope …… read more Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Seoul February 17, 2014 By Catholic News Service, SEOUL (CNS) When a cardinal dons his red robes for the first time and is given his red hat, he usually is reminded that the color of the vestments is a call to devote himself completely to Christ and his church, even to the point of shedding his blood if necessary.For 70-year-old Cardinal-designate Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul, such sacrifice is part of his family history as well …… read more Jean Pierre Kutwa – Abidjan, Ivory Coast February 14, 2014 By ABIDJAN - Catholic News Service, Ivory Coast (CNS) Ivory's Coast's new cardinal is confident his nomination will advance peace after a decade of conflict and instability in the French-speaking West African country."I ask God to give me the grace of strength, so I can work on the different personal encounters we've already begun and continue them until wounded hearts are finally healed," said Cardinal-designate … read more Ricardo Ezzati Andrello – Santiago, Chile February 13, 2014 By Ezra Fieser - Catholic News Service, SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) Cardinal-designate Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago, Chile, said he would serve the church with "humility and simplicity" when he is elevated to cardinal in February.The cardinal-designate also said although his name had been circulated as a potential candidate, the announcement that he was chosen along with 18 … read more Orlando B. Quevedo – Cotabato, Philippines February 13, 2014 By Ezra Fieser - Catholic News Service, SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) Cardinal-designate Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago, Chile, said he would serve the church with "humility and simplicity" when he is elevated to cardinal in February.The cardinal-designate also said although his name had been circulated as a potential candidate, the announcement that he was chosen along with 18 … read more Beniamino Stella – Congregation for the Clergy February 12, 2014 By Simone Orendain - Catholic News Service, MANILA, Philippines (CNS) The Philippines' newly named cardinal works in the heart of the country's Muslim region, and Muslims as well as Catholics praised him and his work.The chief peace negotiator of the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose administrative camp is on the outskirts of Cotabato, said the city's archbishop, … read more Orani Joao Tempesta – Rio de Janeiro February 10, 2014 By Lise Alves - Catholic News Service, SAO PAULO (CNS) Cardinal-designate Orani Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro said he was surprised that Pope Francis named him a cardinal, but friends and thousands of Brazilian Catholics saw it coming.At the end of World Youth Day in July in Rio de Janeiro, several Brazilian newspapers and TV stations covering the event reported that Pope Francis, in thanking the Rio … read more Gualtiero Basseti – Perugia, Citta della Pieve February 7, 2014 By Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service, VATICAN CITY (CNS) Archbishop Gualtiero Bassetti said a parishioner told him he'd been named a cardinal by Pope Francis, and "my jaw dropped" when he found out it was true.The 71-year-old archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve and president of the bishops' conference of Umbria in central Italy said he was not informed before Pope Francis told the world Jan… read more Chibly Langlois – Les Cayes, Haiti February 6, 2014 By Ezra Fieser - Catholic News Service, Dominican Republic (CNS) Haiti's new cardinal is known as a tireless worker, an advocate for the people and someone who never forgot his impoverished childhood. Pope Francis named the first Haitian cardinal Jan. 12 when he selected Bishop Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes, 55, president of the Haitian bishops' conference. Haitian Catholic … read more Vincent Nichols – Westminster, England February 5, 2014 By Simon Caldwell - Catholic News Service, LIVERPOOL, England (CNS) It was not in the silence of a dimly lit church or in the cool hush of an evening breeze that Vincent Nichols recognized he had a vocation to the priesthood, but in the heaving swell and bustle of a soccer crowd. A lifelong supporter of Liverpool Football Club -- one of the most successful British soccer clubs of all time -- Nichols … read more Leopoldo Brenes Solorzano – Managua, Nicaragua February 4, 2014 By Ezra Fieser - Catholic News Service, Dominican Republic (CNS) Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes Solorzano of Managua, Nicaragua, joined his mother to listen to the public announcement that Pope Francis was elevating him to the College of Cardinals. Cardinal-designate Brenes told reporters Jan. 12 he “wanted to cry and to be grateful to the Virgin, because I always want to stay true to my beginnings, my simple beginnings.” … read more Gerald Lacroix – Quebec City February 3, 2014 By Deborah Gyapong - Catholic News Service, OTTAWA CITY (CNS) Cardinal-designate Gerald Lacroix said he sees his elevation to the College of Cardinals as a nomination for the whole Quebec Archdiocese -- more than 1 million Catholics.He said Pope Francis knows Quebec and knows Catholics there need encouragement.The province has seen a breakdown of the family, an increase in individualism and a … read more Pietro Parolin – Vatican Secretary of State January 31, 2014 By Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service, VATICAN CITY (CNS) In his dual roles as coordinator of the Roman Curia and chief Vatican diplomat, Cardinal-designate Pietro Parolin has said he hopes to imitate the joy and the simplicity with which Pope Francis has carried out his ministry.The pope announced Jan. 12 that Archbishop Parolin, his secretary of state, was one of the 19 churchmen he would make … read more Mario Poli – Buenos Aires, Argentina January 30, 2014 By David Agren - Catholic News Service, MEXICO CITY (CNS) Since being named archbishop of Buenos Aires in March, Cardinal-designate Mario Aurelio Poli has shown similarities in the pastoral approach of his predecessor, Pope Francis."He's a lower-profile person, he listens a lot, talks little and is very friendly," said Jose Maria Poirier, director of the Catholic magazine, Criterio, in Buenos Aires … read more Gerhard Muller – Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith January 29, 2014 By Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service, VATICAN CITY (CNS) Archbishop Gerhard L. Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was the first Vatican official formally confirmed in his post by Pope Francis and will be among the first 19 men the pope inducts into the College of Cardinals.Pope Benedict XVI had named the former bishop of Regensburg, Germany, to head the doctrinal … read more Lorenzo Baldisseri – Synod of Bishops January 28, 2014 By Carol Glatz - Catholic News Service, VATICAN CITY (CNS) Even though Cardinal-designate Lorenzo Baldisseri will be elevated to the College of Cardinals during a formal ceremony Feb. 22, he already has a red cap from the pope. When then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pontiff March 13 by his fellow cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, then-Archbishop Baldisseri was serving … read more

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