by: Anura Guruge
On June 25, Francesco Marchisano (Italy), a cardinal deacon, President of the Labor Office of the Apostolic See, turned 80 — and thus lost his right to participate in a conclave. The last cardinal to die was the Italian, Franciscan Cardinal Umberto Betti on April 1, 2009, at the age of 87. Consequently, the College is now at 186 with 114 under the age of 80 (and thus eligible to vote at a conclave).
I have yet again checked on the Vatican list of cardinals. It says it was last updated 11.11.2008 [i.e., Nov. 11, 2008], and as such it has the total count at 192. So they are kind of way behind. So, per my constant refrain, please be aware if you use these lists that they might not be as up to date as you assume. Why they appear to be reluctant to update their Web site is a mystery. If they really are that short-handed (as I have heard them claim, though I am reminded on Pope John XXIII’s incisive answer when he was once asked how many people worked at the Vatican < see below >) they really should think about getting some interns to help them out.
This is the smallest the College has been in awhile. After the last consistory on November 24, 2007, there were 201 cardinals, with 120 eligible to vote . So I think we are due for another consistory within the year.
Following my “Next Pope — Papabili List for 2009,” I had some questions as to the amount of sway the curial cardinals would have at the next conclave. So I did some analysis on the composition of the current College beyond just age and nationalities. So here is what found. This data is accurate as of June 26, 2009. On July 4 Dario Castrillon Hoyos (Columbia) will turn 80. There is also a steady trickle of cardinals that retire, the last James Francis Stafford (USA) on June 2 and prior to that Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu (Thailand) on May 14.
Of the 186 total cardinals:
- 6 are Cardinal Bishops, 3 are Oriental Rites Patriarchs, 149 are Cardinal Priests & 28 Cardinal Deacons
- Average age 77 years
- The macro geographic breakdown is as follows:
Africa 15, Americas 48 (U.S.A. 16), Asia 19, Europe 100 (Italy 39), Oceania 4
Africa 14 countries, Americas 16, Asia 12, Europe 23, Oceania 2 — 67 countries in total
Italy 39, U.S.A 16, Spain 10, France 9, Poland 8, Germany 7, Brazil 8, India 6, Argentina 4, Mexico 4, Canada 3, Ireland 3, Philippines 3 & Switzerland 3
Of the 114 cardinals, under the age of 80 [i.e., 'electors']:
- 4 are Cardinal Bishops, 1 is an Oriental Rites Patriarch, 92 are Cardinal Priests & 17 are Cardinal Deacons
- 20 hold curial offices of whom 2 are cardinal bishops (viz. Bertone & Re), the others cardinal deacons
(Italy – 8, Rest of Europe – 7, U.S.A. – 1, Latin America – 3 & India – 1) - 65 are Archbishops including two Patriarchs – i.e., Venice and Lisbon (Portugal)
- 1 is Bishop — Mainz (Germany)
- 1 is the Vicar General of Rome, viz. Cardinal Agostino Vallini (papabile)
- 1 is the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of Jerusalem, viz. Cardinal John Patrick Foley
- 25 are ‘retired,’ i.e., emeritus status
- 1, viz. Cardinal Bernard Francis Law (formally of Boston, USA), is an Archpriest
- Average age 72 years; 6 in their 79th year, youngest being Peter Erdö (Hungary) at 56
- 21 belong to religious orders, 4 of whom are Salesians, 3 Franciscans, 2 Jesuits & 2 to Opus Dei
- 84 (74%) of these cardinals were created by Pope John Paul II between 1983 and 2003
- 30 were created by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 & 2007
- The macro geographic breakdown is as follows:
Africa 9, Americas 36 (U.S.A. 13), Asia 10, Europe 57 (Italy 19), Oceania 2
Africa 8 countries, Americas 14, Asia 7, Europe 21, Oceania 2 — 52 countries in total
Italy 20, U.S.A 13, France 6, Spain 6, Germany 5, Poland 4, Brazil 4, Mexico 4, Canada 3, India 3
Of the 72 cardinals, over the age of 80:
- 2 are Cardinal Bishops, 2 are Oriental Rites Patriarch (Babylon of the Chaldeans & Antioch for Maronites), 57 are Cardinal Priests & 11 are Cardinal Deacons
- 1 is an Archbishops – Cardinal Vithayathil, Syro-Malabra (India)
- 62 are ‘retired,’ i.e., emeritus status
- 1 is an Archpriest of Pontifical Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls
- 1 is a nuncio, Cardinal Coppa (Italy)
- 2 are Oriental Rites Patriarchs
- 1 is a curial official, Francesco Marchisano (Italy), a cardinal deacon, President of the Labor Office of the Apostolic See
- 4, Cardinal Deacons and distinguished academics all, fall into a ‘continuing prior career’ category in that they were created cardinals after they had turned 80 and were thus too old to hold curial offices.
- Average age 85 years; oldest Cardinal Mayer (Germany) at 98 with two in their 80th year.
- 15 belong to religious orders with 7 of them Jesuits & 3 Franciscans
- 4 of these cardinals were created by Pope Paul VI between 1969 and 1976
- 62 (86%) by Pope John Paul II between 1979 and 2003
- 6 by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 & 2007
- The macro geographic breakdown is as follows:
Africa 6, Americas 12 (U.S.A. 3), Asia 9, Europe 43 (Italy 20), Oceania 2
Africa 6 countries, Americas 6, Asia 7, Europe 12, Oceania 1 — 32 countries in total
Italy 19, Spain 4, Poland 4, Brazil 4, France 3, U.S.A 3, India 3
Pope John XXIII’s answer to the question as to how many people worked at the Vatican: “about half!” Judging by recent events, even that might have been overly optimistic.
I am not a cardinal-watcher. For that matter, I am not really even a pope-watcher. My interest and expertise is in research and analysis. So I really am more of a papal historian and analyst — which is what I have ever professed to be. So please do not rely on me for keeping you updated as to the latest happenings with the cardinals. I do not even check necrology on a daily basis — let alone weekly. Sometimes not even monthly. Though I get a daily summary of Vatican news — I don’t read it! I am usually heads down doing research, writing what I have found or trying to make a living. I will TRY and remember that I need to update this posting around July 4 when the next cardinal turns 80.
Hope this helps. All the best.
Anu



