Pope Francis has announced he will create five new cardinals next month, one of whom has dedicated his appointment to slain archbishop, Blessed Oscar Romero.
Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez from El Salvador said he was surprised when he received a call from the Vatican at 5am on May 21, and expressed his “profound gratitude” to God and the Pope.
The Church in El Salvador has recently been pushing for sainthood for Blessed Romero, who was shot dead at the start of a 12 year civil war, which began in 1980.
“I dedicate this appointment to Archbishop Romero,’’ said Cardinal-designate Rosa Chavez, “I believe that he would have been called for this, but he will have to receive it in Heaven due to his martyrdom.” Blessed Romero was beatified in 2015.
The appointment of the churchmen from Mali, Spain, Sweden, Laos and El Salvador was said to express the reach of Catholicism across the globe.
The Pope addressed a crowd at St Peter’s Square last Sunday praying the new cardinals would be “authentic servants” and “joyful proclaimers of the Gospel”.
Consistory
He also prayed they would “support me more intensely in my service as Bishop of Rome, pastor of the universal Church.”
Each of them have been assigned a diocese in Rome, and will celebrate a Mass with the Pope, the entire College of Cardinals, and new archbishops from around the world on June 29. The consistory will take place on June 28.
Altogether the College of Cardinals will now have 227 members. As the newcomers are all under the age of 80 they will be eligible to vote in a conclave, bringing the number of eligible voters to 121 which exceeds the limit of 120 set by Blessed Paul VI.
However one Vatican-based cardinal will turn 80 in February.
The other cardinals are Archbishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali, 73; Archbishop Juan Jose Omella of Barcelona, Spain, 71; Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, apostolic vicar of Pakse, Laos, 73; and Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, Sweden, 67.