Live, death of Pope Francis: the cardinals called to rally Rome, on Tuesday morning, to define in particular the date of the funeral

On December 8, 2024, François had raised to the rank of cardinals 21 prelates from of the five continents During an ordinary consistory, the tenth since his election, in 2013. With these promotions, he wanted to consolidate his inheritance and shape his image the college of Cardinals, most of which will be called upon to elected his successor one day.

François has indeed chosen more than 78 % of cardinals voters, those aged under the age of 80, who will take part in the next conclave, during which the majority of two thirds is required to elect a pontiff. The law of the Church technically limits the number of these cardinals to 120, but the last popes have often exceeded it. To date, the college of cardinals is made up of 252 cardinals including 135 cardinals voters.

Since his election, François has highlighted dioceses remote in what he called the “Peripheries”territories where Catholics are even a minority, free from use aimed at systematically distinguishing certain archbishops from large dioceses such as Milan or Paris.

This new promotion is not to be outdone with, among voters, five bishops from Latin America (Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Argentina), but only two from Africa (those of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire and Algiers in Algeria). Asia-Pacific, a region which has experienced the greatest expansion in the last decade, is represented there by Belgian Dominique Joseph Mathieu, archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, the Archbishop of Tokyo or the bishop of the Ukrainian community of Melbourne, in Australia. The cardinals of the college come from 7 continents, from 91 countries and 70 countries have cardinals voters.

The choice of cardinals returns exclusively to the head of the Catholic Church, which selects them according to criteria of his choice and his priorities. Its mission is to assist him in the central government of the Church. Some live in Rome and have functions within the Curia (the Vatican government), but most of them exercise their ministry in their diocese of origin.

The appointment of cardinals is scrutinized by observers, who see it as an indication of the possible line of the future spiritual leader of the Catholic Church and its nearly 1.4 billion claimed faithful.

But the election of a pope is always unpredictable and some cardinals named by François do not always share his ideas, or even openly take a position against him. Others believe that the great diversity of cardinals who know each other badly and are little growing the next conclave to find a compromise with a strong and balanced figure inspiring collective confidence.