New cardinals boost hopes of Italian becoming Pope
The Pope named 24 new cardinals yesterday, putting his mark on the body that will elect his successor and giving a boost to Italian hopes to regain the papacy.
He said the new "princes of the church" would be formally elevated at a ceremony in Rome on November 20, making the announcement "with joy" at the end of his weekly public audience.
Key posts include Warsaw, Poland; Munich; Kinshasa, Congo; Quito, Ecuador; Aparecida, Brazil; Lusaka, Zambia; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and the leader in Egypt of the Catholic Coptic church, who is heading a Vatican meeting on the plight of Christians in the Middle East. Eight of the new cardinals under 80 are Italians, giving them a total of 25 – this group makes up nearly half of the European members of the electing College of Cardinals.