Pope names Indian Archbishop among 22 new cardinals of the Church

(January 06, 2012) The head of the India-based Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is among 22 new cardinals of the Catholic Church that Pope Benedict XVI announced on Friday. Major Archbishop George Alencherry of Ernakulam-Angamaly in Kerala, will join 21 others from around the world for the consistory on Feb 18 when they will be conferred the cardinal’s title with the red hat by Pope Benedict. The Pontiff made the announcement of his new closest collaborators during the midday ‘Angelus’ prayer in St. Peter’s Square on Friday, Epiphany Day that commemorates the visit of the Magi to baby Jesus. The only other Asian cardinal besides Archbishop Alencherry is Bishop John Tong Hon of Hong Kong. The 22 new cardinals include 18 archbishops, 1 bishop and 3 priests. Eighteen of them are below 80-years of age and hence are eligible to vote for a new Pope at a conclave. A Romanian Archbishop and three priests, all above 80 years, have also been chosen to be cardinals by the Pope in recognition of their service to the Church. The bulk of the new prelates are from Europe – 16. Four are from the Americas. After the consistory of Feb. 18, the total number of cardinals worldwide will stand at 214, with 125 electors and 89 non-electors. India will have 6 cardinals, with Cardinals Simon Pimenta and Simon Lourdusamy as non-electors, and 4 electors, viz., Cardinals Alencherry, Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, Telesphore Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, and Ivan Dias, now retired. Continent-wise Europe will have the highest number of cardinals with 119 followed by the Americas with 54, Africa 17, Asia 20 and Oceania 4. Here is the list of all the new cardinals, starting with the two Asians:
1. Major Archbishop GEORGE ALENCHERRY of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabar Church (India)
2. Bishop JOHN TONG HON of Hong Kong (P.R. China)
3. Arch. FERNANDO FILONI, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Italy)
4. Arch. MANUEL MONTEIRO DE CASTRO, Major Penitentiary (Portugal)
5. Arch. SANTOS ABRIL Y CASTELLÓ, Archpriest of St. Mary Major basilica, Rome (Spain)
6. Arch. ANTONIO MARIA VEGLIÒ, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (Italy)
7. Arch. GIUSEPPE BERTELLO, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City (Italy)
8. Arch. FRANCESCO COCCOPALMERIO, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (Italy)
9. Arch. JOÃO BRAZ DE AVIZ, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and societies of Apostolic Life (Brazil)
10. Arch. EDWIN FREDERIK O'BRIEN, Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (USA)
11. Arch. DOMENICO CALCAGNO, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See ((Italy)
12. Arch. GIUSEPPE VERSALDI, President of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See (Italy)
13. Arch. THOMAS CHRISTOPHER COLLINS of Toronto (Canada)
14 Arch. DOMINIK DUKA of Prague (Czech Republic)
15. Arch. WILLEM JACOBUS EIJK of Utrecht (Netherlands)
16. Arch. GIUSEPPE BETORI of Florence, (Italy)
17. Arch. TIMOTHY MICHAEL DOLAN of New York (USA)
18. Arch. RAINER MARIA WOELKI of Berlin (Germany)
19. Major Archbishop LUCIAN MUREŞAN, of Fagaras and Alba Iulia of Romanians (Romania)
20. Fr. JULIEN RIES of Namur diocese and emeritus professor of the history of religion at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium)
21. Fr. PROSPER GRECH, O.S.A., Emeritus professor in various universities of Rome and consultor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Malta)
22. Fr. KARL BECKER, S.J., Emeritus professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome), and consultor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Germany)