Pope names new cardinals to his advisory council

Two Spaniards and a Canadian are among the five new cardinals on the council.

Pope Francis has named new members to the Council of Cardinals, the structure he set up to assist him in reforming the Roman Curia.

Five cardinals are joining: Fernando Vérgez Alzaga (Spanish), Juan José Omella Omella (Spanish, archbishop of Barcelona), Gérald C. Lacroix (Canadian, archbishop of Quebec), Jean-Claude Hollerich (Luxemburg), and Sérgio da Rocha (Brazilian, archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia).

Four cardinals remain: Pietro Parolin (Italian), Fridolin Ambongo (DRC), Oswald Gracias (Indian), Seán Patrick O’Malley (American).

And three cardinals are not renewed: Reinhard Marx (German, age 69), Óscar Maradiaga (Honduras, age 80) and Giuseppe Bertello (Italian, age 80).

Cardinal Vérgez Alzaga is president of the Governatorate of Vatican City State and just became a cardinal in 2022. The cardinal who holds this position has been a member of the council since it was established.

Formally announced on April 13, 2013, just a month after Pope Francis was elected to the Throne of Peter, the purpose of the Council of Cardinals is to advise the pope on the government of the universal Church.

Oswald Gracias, Reinhard Marx, Seán Patrick O’Malley, and Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, were four of the original eight members of the council.