Know the Catholic Church's 22 new cardinals

(February 18, 2012) Listed below are brief biographies of the 22 candidates whom Pope Benedict XVI made cardinals at a consistory in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India
George Alencherry was born on April 19, 1945, in Thuruthy, in southern India's Kerala state. He was the sixth child of the ten children. He was ordained in 1972, and later served three years as secretary of the Commission for Catechism of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council. In 1996, he was appointed the first bishop of the newly established diocese of Thuckalay. On May 24, 2011, the synod of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church elected him Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, thus he became the first elected head of the eastern rite Church. Pope Benedict acknowledged his election the following day. The previous two heads had been appointed by the Pope.

Cardinal John Tong Hon, Bishop of Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
John Tong Hon was born on July 31, 1939, in Hong Kong. He was ordained a priest on 9 December 1966. In 1980, he was appointed Director of the The Holy Spirit Study Centre, an office of the Diocese of Hong Kong. It is a research institute which studies issues related to the Church in China. In 1996, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, and then named Coadjutor-Bishop in 2008. He was installed as bishop the next year.

Cardinal Edwin Frederick O’Brien, USA - Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Edwin Frederick O’Brien was born on April 8, 1939 in the Bronx, New York. He was one of three children. He served as an Army Chaplain with the 82nd Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. He was named an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1996. The following year, he was named coadjutor bishop for the Archdiocese for the Military Services he succeeded as archbishop four months later. On July 12, 2007, he was appointed the 15th Archbishop of Baltimore, the first diocese of the United States. On August 29, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop O'Brien Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, pending the installation of his successor.

Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, Canada
Thomas Christopher Collins was born on January 16, 1947, in Guelph, Ontario. He was the youngest of three children. After his ordination in 1973, he arrived in Rome for further studies. He received his Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Bible Institute in 1978 and a Doctorate in Theology from the Gregorian University in 1986. In 1997, he was appointed as Bishop of Saint Paul, Alberta. Two years later, he was named the Archbishop of Edmonton. In 2007, he was named to his current position as the Archbishop of Toronto.

Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York, USA
Timothy Michael Dolan was born on February 6, 1950, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the oldest of five children. He was ordained in 1976. In 1992, Dolan was appointed Vice-Rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, and then, in 1994, rector of Pontifical North American College in Rome. He held this post until 2001, when he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis. In 2002, Dolan was named Archbishop of Milwaukee, In 2009, the Archbishop was appointed Archbishop of New York.H.B.

Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Italy - Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Fernando Filoni was born on April 15, 1946, in Manduria, Italy, and ordained in 1970. He served much of his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, and was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan in 2001. He was the only Ambassador to stay in Baghdad during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. He was named Substitute for General Affairs to the Secretary of State in 2007, and was appointed to his current position as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in 2011.

Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Portugal - Major Penitentiary
Manuel Monteiro de Castro was born on March 29, 1930 in S. Eufemia, Portugal. He was ordained July 9, 1961. He spent much of his career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, serving as Apostolic Nuncio to countries in the West Indies, southern Africa, and Spain. He was appointed Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops in 2009, and Major Penitentiary in January of this year.

Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló, Spain - Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major
Santos Abril y Castelló was born on September 21, 1935 in Alfambra, Spain. He was ordained on March 19, 1960. He spent much of his career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia, Cameroon, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Slovenia and Macedonia. In January of last year, he was appointed Vice-Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, which has important duties during any conclave. He was named Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major in November of last year.

Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò, Italy - President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
Antonio Maria Vegliò was born on February 3, 1938, in Macerata Feltria, Italy. He was ordained on March 18, 1962. He spent much of his career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mali, Lebanon and Kuwait. He was appointed Secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in 2001. He became President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in 2009.

Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, Italy - President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of the same State
Giuseppe Bertello was born on October 1, 1942, in Foglizzo, Italy. He was ordained on June 29, 1966. He spent much of his career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Togo, Benin, Rwanda, Mexico, Italy, and San Marino. Last year, he was appointed President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, Italy - President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
Francesco Coccopalmerio was born on March 6, 1938, in San Giuliano Milanese, Italy. He was ordained on June 28, 1962. In 1981, he was made a Professor in the Faculty of Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1993, he was an Auxiliary Bishop of Milan. In 2007, he was made President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Brazil - Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
João Braz de Aviz was born on Apr 24, 1947, in Mafra, Brazil. He was ordained on Nov 26, 1972. He was named auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Vitória in 1994. He became bishop of Diocese of Ponta Grossa in 1998, and then Archbishop of Maringá in 2002. In 2004, he was appointed Archbishop of Brasília, where in 2010 he organised the highly successful XVI National Eucharistic Congress. He was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in 2011.

Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, Italy - President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
Domenico Calcagno was born on February 3, 1943, in Tramontana, Italy. He was ordained on June 29, 1967. He was named bishop of Savona-Noli in 2002. He became Secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See in 2007, and President in 2011.

Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, Italy - President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
Giuseppe Versaldi as born on July 30, 1943, in Vercelli, Italy. He was ordained on June 29, 1967. He was named bishop of Alessandria in 2007. In 2011, he was made President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See;

Cardinal Dominik Duka Archbishop of Prague, Czech Republic
Dominik Duka was born on April 26, 1943, in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic (at the time, Czechoslovakia). He was ordained on June 22, 1970. He made his solemn profession in the Dominican Order in 1972. He was forced into factory work by the communist regime, while still secretly serving as a Dominican. He was jailed for a short time in the 1980’s. He was made bishop of Hradec Králové in 1998. In 2010, he was appointed Archbishop of Prague.

Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Willem Jacobus Eijk was born on Ju ne 22, 1953, in Duivendrecht, The Netherlands. He was ordained on June 1, 1985. He has doctorates in Medicine, Philosophy, and Theology. In 1999 he was appointed bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden. In 2007, he was appointed the Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht.

Cardinal Giuseppe Betori Archbishop of Florence, Italy
Giuseppe Betori was born on February 25, 1947, in Foligno, Italy. He was ordained on September 26, 1970. In 2001, he was created a bishop and made Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference. He was appointed Archbishop of Florence in 2008.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Berlin, Germany
Rainer Maria Woelki was born on August 18, 1956, in Köln-Mühlheim, Germany. He was ordained on June 14, 1985. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cologne in 2003. He became Archbishop of Berlin in 2011, and welcomed Pope Benedict XVI on his third apostolic visit to Germany.

Cardinal Lucian Mureşan, Major Archbishop of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia for Romanians, Romania
Lucian Mureşan was born on May 23, 1931, in Firiza, Romania. He was ordained on December 19, 1964. He was appointed Bishop of Maramureş in 1990. In 1994 he was made Archbishop of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia. In Dec. 2005 when the archdiocese was elevated to the rank of Major Archdiocese, Archbishop Muresan was appointed its first Major Archbishop. He thus became the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Romania.

Cardinal Fr. Julien Ries of the Diocese of Namur, Belgium
He is professor emeritus of history and religion at the Catholic University of Leuven/Louvain. Julien Ries was born on April 19, 1920, in Fouches, Belgium. He was ordained on August 12, 1945. He was appointed titular archbishop of Belcastro on January 23rd of this year, and was consecrated a bishop on February 11th.

Cardinal Prosper Grech, OSA, Malta
He is lecturer emeritus at various universities in Rome and Consultor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Prosper Grech was born on December 23, 1925, in Vittoriosa, Malta. He made is profession in the Augustinian Order on October 8, 1944. He was ordained to the priesthood on March 25, 1950. He was appointed titular archbishop of San Leone on January 21st of this year, and was consecrated a bishop on February 8th.

Cardinal Karl Becker, SJ, Germany
He is lecturer emeritus at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Consultor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Karl Becker was born on April 18, 1928, in Köln, Germany. He became a professed member of the Society of Jesus on April 13, 1948. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 31, 1958.