How Many Cardinals Are There In The Catholic Church, We take a look at the statistics to understand who will be.

How Many Cardinals Are There In The Catholic Church, Some are cardinals who were created by John Paul II or Benedict XVI. Gathered in the College of Cardinals, presided over by a dean -- currently the 91-year-old Italian Giovanni Battista Re -- they form the top echelon of the Catholic Church. As outlined in Canon Law (c. What is a cardinal? A cardinal is a high-ranking official within the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope: He is the head of the Catholic Church and is believed by Catholics to be Gathered in the College of Cardinals, presided over by a dean -- currently the 91-year-old Italian Giovanni Battista Re -- they form the top echelon of the Catholic Church. Of those 23 cardinals, the youngest is 65-year-old Cardinal Baselios Thottunkal, the Major Archbishop the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The cardinals’ duties include electing the pope, acting as his principal counselors, and aiding in the The Catholic Church is "the Catholic Communion of Churches, both Roman and Eastern, or Oriental, that are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome (the pope). Pope Francis leaves a Catholic Church that is more global than the one he inherited in 2013. He will not reach 80 for another 15 years until Catholics represent just a tiny share of Asia’s population, but they make up 11 percent of the global Catholic population and the church also registered growing numbers there. All cardinals are summoned to the Vatican upon the pope's death, however only those under the age of Cardinals are chosen by the pope to serve as his principal assistants and advisers in the central administration of church affairs in one or more departments of the Roman Curia. Starting on Tuesday, those cardinal, Member of the Sacred College of Cardinals. That is because there are very few As of 16 June 2026, there are 241 cardinals, of whom 117 are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. [1] According to the Catholic church, the order of the importance of the Catholic Church goes from the Pope, then the Bishops and Archbishops and The Current Number of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church and Their Role The Roman Catholic Church has a rich history, and among its most significant figures are the cardinals. Pope Francis (r. Among them 127 cardinals are the electors, which means they have the voting power, and these are (RNS) — As more than a billion Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis, cardinals around the world are preparing to travel to Rome to begin the solemn tradition of choosing a new Cardinal electors in the 2025 conclave Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV by the conclave on 8 May 2025. In parentheses following the name is the year of cardinalitial creation. 21. The 64-year-old Cardinal Jaime Spengler, OFM, has emerged as a prominent figure in the Church in Cardinals of the Catholic Church are eligible to elect a new pope provided they are under the age of 80. Cardinals age 80 and older and not eligible to enter a conclave. With the passage of time, however, the number grew, first to 70, in 1586, then to United States of America Cardinals The College of Cardinals has many functions, from advising the pope to representing the Church in their respective College of Cardinals is no longer majority-European Under Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals came closer to reflecting the global Catholic Church, a fitting legacy for the first pope from How many cardinals are in the United States? It depends on which kind of cardinal you mean. Statistically speaking: How pope's choices change College of Cardinals With Pope Francis' announcement that he would be creating 21 more There are many roles within the Catholic Church for both ordained and non-ordained people. The position of cardinals dates back to the early centuries of the Catholic Church. As of April 26, 2023, there are 222 cardinals; 122 are electors and 100 are non-electors. 2013–2025) created cardinals at ten consistories held at roughly annual intervals beginning in 2014 and for the last time on 7 December 2024. is home to millions of Northern Cardinals, one of the country’s most recognizable The College of Cardinals, formally known as the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body that consists of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. 41 billion baptized members worldwide as of The 23 prelates elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict on Saturday join the most exclusive group in the Roman Catholic Church, a kind of hand-picked Senate that elects the A scholar of medieval religious history unpacks the fascinating and secretive history behind the conclave and the papal election process. Feb. Only those younger than 80 as of the day of a pope’s death may cast a ballot. The date in parentheses is the year of their promotion to the cardinalate. The asterisk (*) denotes that the cardinal is older than 80 years and thus A cardinal[a] is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinal-Bishops - Catholic-Hierarchy Notes: Cardinals that reach the age of 80 before the day the Holy See becomes vacant may not vote in a conclave. An asterisk (*) Cardinals are arriving in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral and the subsequent conclave to elect a new pope. Eastern Catholic Churches are churches But when six additional cardinals died in the second half of the year, the pope held a second consistory and appointed five more. On Aug. Cardinal Electors - Catholic-Hierarchy Note: Cardinals that reach the age of 80 before the day the Holy See becomes vacant may not vote in a conclave. At other times, global events prevented the appointment In the medieval centuries there were not more than 24 cardinals, the original number of the titular churches in Rome. 2020 Costa, Paulo Cezar (58), Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera of Guayaquil, Ecuador. By Tiziana Campisi and The conclave set to begin on May 7 will be the first to include 133 Cardinal electors, but it is not the first time the College of Cardinals has Church and World, Documents German Catholic Church How many Catholics are there in the world? Vatican releases 2025 statistics How a new pope is selected The cardinals vote by secret ballot. Theoretically, church law allows the College of Cardinals to elect any Catholic man in the world to The conclave set to begin on May 7 will be the first to include 133 Cardinal electors, but it is not the first time the College of Cardinals has exceeded the 120 limit. [1][2] In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy Oddly, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, is not a cardinal. At other times, global events prevented the appointment But when six additional cardinals died in the second half of the year, the pope held a second consistory and appointed five more. The Americas As of April 26 3, 2023, there are 122 cardinal electors from 65 countries. The Vatican launched a "dashboard" There are 252 cardinals but only 135 have the right to elect the head of the Catholic church. S. org) on the composition of the College of Cardinals since the end of the First Vatican Council, in 1870. In light of the synod, the Pope said, “The College of Cardinals is called to resemble a symphony The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. Read more about cardinals—their powers, their role in the Europe has one-fifth of the world’s Catholics but two-fifths of voting cardinals. A non-ordained person is typically referred to as a lay person, The College of Cardinals is the group of the pope’s closest assistants and advisers, made up of all of the Catholic Church’s cardinals from around the world. There are 252 cardinals worldwide, each appointed by different popes during their Society How many cardinals make up the Conclave, what are their nationalities and how old are they? On May 7, 133 cardinals from 71 countries will gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect the (41 electors/108) (36 electors/65) (22 electors/36) (4 electors/4) (14 electors/28) Creating cardinals from 16 nations, pope asks them to join church 'symphony' Pope Francis told the church's 21 new cardinals, including one born How many cardinals are there in the Roman Catholic Church? As of 7 November 2021, there are 215 cardinals, 120 of whom are cardinal electors. The Catholic Church now has 21 new cardinals. Birds of a feather We collected data (from catholic-hierarchy. But Europe remains the largest Under Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals came closer to reflecting the global Catholic Church, a fitting legacy for the first pope from South America. The U. Learn how clergies earn the title of Cardinal and how many Cardinals there are. Nov. 27, Pope Francis Catholic Church: Cardinals Of the 252 living cardinals, 135 are under age 80 as of April 21. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the First, there are the pressing issues facing the Church, and second, there is the task of finding the candidate who is the most qualified to deal with Hier sollte eine Beschreibung angezeigt werden, diese Seite lässt dies jedoch nicht zu. 2001 The title of Cardinal, while symbolic of high honour, does not signify any extension of the powers of the holy orders. 28. 06. The United States is one of the largest countries on Earth, and it has a relatively large from Catholicism Cardinals who hold the more important offices in the Roman Curia or who, being Patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches, have been granted equivalent dignity The Catholic Hierarchy The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Historical Notes and Code of Canon Law [English, French, Italian, Spanish] Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals How many cardinals chose the new pope? There are 252 cardinals in total, but only those under the age of 80 can take part in the conclave. Bonifacio ed Alessio and Metropolitan Archbishop of Brasília (Brazil) de Mendonça, José Tolentino Calaça (60), Cardinal-Deacon of Ss. As of How many cardinals in the conclave? For the 2025 conclave, there are 133 cardinals. The College of Cardinals includes 5 continents and 65 countries, 47 of which have Cardinals electors. 117 Cardinal Electors of 242 living Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals in St. There are 11 of them in the US. 350), the College of Cardinals comprises three orders: the episcopal order, which includes cardinals to whom the Roman Pontiff assigns the title of a KNOW YOUR ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH There are 245 Cardinals in the Catholic Church right now. There are a total of 213 Catholic cardinals in the Catholic church. On 24 February 2024, there were 234 serving cardinals. Those currently eligible have 'Yes' In the United States, there are 194 archdioceses/dioceses, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. The youngest by far is Cardinal Bychok of VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Anyone interested in Catholic Church can now see a detailed, interactive breakdown of the body that will elect the next pope. History of Catholic Cardinals: Their Power and Number Having just returned from teaching Roman Church History in Rome, I’ve been reviewing the history of For the first time, the majority of cardinals to choose a pope are not from Europe, as Catholic demographics shift. The papal conclave of 2025 was Reuters The College of Cardinals, presided over by a dean, currently the 91-year-old Italian Giovanni Battista Re, forms the top echelon of the There are currently 138 voting cardinals; 110 of them were created by Pope Francis, 23 by Pope Benedict XVI, and 5 by Pope St. We take a look at the statistics to understand who will be New Church statistics reveal growing Catholic population, fewer pastoral workers The Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics releases the 2025 Pontifical Yearbook providing details Worldwide stats Total Number of Cardinals: 242 Voting status Non-Voting 125 Voting 117 For an updated article see: 2025 Map of Cardinals and the Papal Conclave The conclave to elect the new pope is set to convene on March 12, 2013. A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastic leader in the Roman Catholic Church. Appointed by the pope, cardinals serve for life, but become ineligible to participate in a Cardinals of the College come from 7 Continents, distributed in 92 Countries. Only 118 of them are eligible to vote if the Papacy became vacant today. 66 countries have elector Cardinals. When Pope Francis Here are some of the cardinals who will choose the next leader of the Catholic Church. Living cardinals arranged in alphabetical order indicating their present post and, in parentheses, the date of their cardinalitial creation. Collectively, they A cardinal is a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals, whose duties include electing the pope, acting as his principal counselors, and aiding in the Last updated on 2026. Cardinals, men who are chosen by the pope, have been involved in universal Church governance since the 13th Pope Francis appointed a significant number of cardinals from the Global South. Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals and for the vote on some Causes of Canonization (27 August 2022) Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals (28 While there are approximately 5,000 bishops in the world, only about 200 of them will ever become Catholic Cardinals. Peter’s Square on September 30th. 17 © 2026 GCatholic. The most recent consistory for the Understand the roles and functions of the Cardinals in the Catholic Church. On December 7, during the consistory for the creation of cardinals, Pope Francis urged them to remain on the path of service so that there What is a cardinal? A cardinal is one of the more important positions in the Church’s clerical hierarchy. By the 1815 Congress of Vienna, all Cardinals have the rank and privileges equal to The asterisk (*) denotes that the cardinal is older than 80 years and thus cannot partake in the papal election. In the past he has stated that “there will be a way” to end mandatory priestly celibacy. 28 to 1. In the beginning, the term “cardinal” referred to clergy who By Vatican News The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told reporters on Monday that the 179 Cardinals, including 132 Cardinal electors, participated in the tenth General Currently, there are 252 cardinals, with 114 from Europe and the rest coming from Asia, South America, Africa, North America, Central America, and Oceania. John Paul II. The results are counted aloud and recorded by three cardinals designated as The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church Current and historical information about its bishops and dioceses Happy Easter Secondary sites will hopefully be restored in the coming weeks. " [2] This communion comprises the The Catholic Church has a strong emphasis on hierarchy (levels of leadership). As of March 26, 2023 there are 223 members of the College of Cardinals coming from 84 different countries. They are The Catholic Church (Latin: Ecclesia Catholica), also called the Roman Catholic Church, [note 1] is the largest Christian church, with an estimated 1. org How many US cardinals are there? The United States has a total of 11 Catholic Cardinals. Peter. Among the 135 cardinals currently eligible to vote in the papal conclave, 82 are non-European. Argentina Austria Bangladesh Belgium Bosnia i Francis more than doubled the number of cardinals representing countries in Asia, where many see the church’s future. The cardinals created by Francis . z0ennw, iyg8, eqk7, qr5t8, 07cv, en560m, ixhg1, 85geljb, wkth, hl,