meanings of College of Cardinals encyclopedia of College of Cardinals dictionary of College of Cardinals thesaurus on College of Cardinals books about College of Cardinals dreams about College of Cardinals
 College of Cardinals - Definition 

The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. Historically, they were the clergy of the city of Rome: they were the priests serving the Pope as the Bishop of Rome (hence, they were assigned duties in parishes of the city).

Today the only roles of the College are participating in papal elections when the Holy See is vacant (a meeting for such a purpose is called a "conclave") and advising the Roman Pontiff about Church matters (in the consistory). The College has no ruling power except for the sede vacante period, where its powers are still extremely limited (see Universi Dominici Gregis). The prefects of Vatican Congregations are always Cardinals.

The president and vice-president of the college are the Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Sub-Dean. Both are elected by the cardinals holding suburbicarian dioceses, but the election requires Papal confirmation. Except for presiding, the Dean has no power of governance over the cardinals, instead acting as primus inter pares.

Although the rules of the Conclave explicitly say the Pope need not be chosen from among the ranks of the Cardinals, that has been the norm since the election of Urban VI in 1378.

Since January 1, 1971, the cardinals over age 80 have not had a vote in the election of popes, under the terms of Pope Paul VI's motu proprio Ingravescentam Aetatem.

Contents

Members of the College of Cardinals

Cardinals are shown in order of precedence (based on seniority by date of appointment). The list is correct as of February 2005. Cardinals aged 80 or over will not be eligible to take part in the Conclave which elects the next Pope are indicated with an asterisk(*). Fourteen of the Cardinals were appointed during the reign of Pope Paul VI. All the others were appointed during Pope John Paul II's reign. There are three ranks of Cardinals: Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priests, and Cardinal Deacons. Almost all Cardinals are also bishops.

Cardinals of the Order of Bishops

Titular Bishops of seven suburbicarian sees

Patriarchs of Oriental Rites


Cardinals of the Order of Priests

Consistory of 28 April 1969

Consistory of 5 March 1973

Consistory of 24 May 1976

Consistory of 30 June 1979

Consistory of 2 February 1983

Consistory of 25 May 1985

Consistory of 28 June 1988

Consistory of 28 June 1991

Consistory of 26 November 1994

Consistory of 21 February 1998

Consistory of 21 February 2001

Consistory of 21 October 2003

Cardinals of the Order of Deacons

Cardinal-Deacons have the right to become Cardinal Priests after ten years as Cardinal Deacons. It is thought likely that those elevated in the consistory of 1994 will exercise this right at the next consistory.

Consistory of 26 November 1994

  • Luigi Cardinal Poggi* (Italy) - born November 25 1917 Retired Librarian and Archivist of the Holy Roman Church
  • Carlo Cardinal Furno* (Italy) - born December 2 1921 Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and Retired Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
  • Gilberto Cardinal Agustoni* (Switzerland) - born July 26 1922 Retired Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Consistory of 21 February 1998

Consistory of 21 February 2001

Consistory of 21 October 2003

In 2003 the Pope announced he was also creating one cardinal secretly (in pectore), which would take effect if the appointment were announced before the Pope's death. This cardinal is believed to reside in the People's Republic of China.

See also

External link


es:Colegio cardenalicio de:Kardinalskollegium

Copyright 2008 WordIQ.com - Privacy Policy  ::  Terms of Use  :: Contact Us  :: About Us
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "College of Cardinals".