Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, preaches the homily during the third day of Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 28, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
CNA Newsroom, Apr 28, 2025 … […]
Cardinal Baldassare Reina celebrates Mass on Day 3 of the Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis on April 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
CNA Newsroom, Apr 28, 2025 / 18:42 pm (CNA).
Cardinal Baldassar… […]
In July 2022, Imán Nader and her family were able to greet Pope Francis after the general audience. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Apr 28, 2025 / 17:28 pm (CNA).
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From left to right: Cardinal Robert Sarah, Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, Cardinal Joseph Coutts, and Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA; Romanuspontifex, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Daniel Ibañez embraces Pope Francis. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Apr 28, 2025 / 14:56 pm (CNA).
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Cardinals are seen before Pope Francis’ body in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
CNA Newsroom, Apr 28, 2025 / 11:39 am (CNA).
Ahead of the May 7 conclave, evangelization challenges, interfai… […]
Cardinals follow the ceremony during the ordinary public consistory for the creation of new cardinals at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Vatican City, Apr 28, 2025 / 11:09 am (CNA).
At the upcoming papal conclave, set to begin May 7, the College of Cardinals will include several notably young members who have traveled to Rome from across the world, from Mongolia to Australia.
Among the 135 cardinals who are eligible to vote in a conclave, 15 of them are under the age of 60.
Historically, the age of cardinals participating in papal conclaves has varied. One of the youngest was Cardinal Alfonso Gesualdo di Conza, who attended the 1565–1566 conclave at the age of 25.
In more recent times, during the 2013 conclave, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, was the youngest cardinal elector at 53. In the upcoming conclave, there are six cardinals the same age or younger.
Three of the youngest cardinals who will take part in the Conclave: Americo Manuel (51), from Portugal; Cardenal Mykola (45), Ukrainian Greek Catholic cardinal from Australia; and Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, (50), from Mongolia. They took a selfie yesterday in St Peter’s Basilica. pic.twitter.com/8rNa3vUWwA
— Ines San Martin (@inesanma) April 27, 2025
The five youngest cardinals lead sees in Australia, Mongolia, Portugal, and Canada as well as a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Two of them are Eastern-rite Catholics. Three were made cardinals in the last consistory before the conclave.
Here are the five youngest cardinals who will help select the next pope:
Born on Feb. 13, 1980, in Ternopil, Ukraine, Bychok felt the call to the priesthood at the age of 15. He joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) in 1997, inspired by their missionary zeal. His service has been extensive, including roles as a missionary in Russia, parish priest, and provincial bursar in Ukraine as well as vicar of the Ukrainian Catholic Parish of St. John the Baptist in Newark, New Jersey.
In January 2020, Pope Francis appointed him as the eparchial bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul in Melbourne, Australia. His episcopal consecration took place on June 7, 2020. Bychok has worked to foster community among the Ukrainian diaspora in Australia and to increase youth engagement within the Church.
On Dec. 7, 2024, Pope Francis elevated him to the College of Cardinals, making him the current world’s youngest cardinal.
Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, born on June 7, 1974, in Cuneo, Italy, has been a Consolata missionary in Mongolia since 2003. He was ordained a priest in 2001 and appointed apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar in 2020.
Pope Francis created him a cardinal on Aug. 27, 2022, making him the youngest member of the College of Cardinals at the time at age 48. He welcomed Pope Francis to Mongolia in 2023 as the first pope to ever visit the country. Marengo is fluent in Mongolian, Italian, and English.
Cardinal Américo Manuel Aguiar Alves, born on Dec. 12, 1973, is the bishop of Setúbal, Portugal. Before entering the priesthood, Aguiar had a brief political career, serving as a town councilor under the Socialist Party. He was ordained a priest at the age of 27 in 2001 and went on to serve in roles such as vicar general and communication director for the Diocese of Porto. He became the auxiliary bishop of Lisbon in 2019 and gained recognition for his leadership in organizing the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, which drew over 1.5 million attendees.
Pope Francis made him a cardinal in late 2023.
Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, born on Aug. 11, 1973, in Kerala, India, is a Vatican diplomat and Syro-Malabar archbishop. His diplomatic career included assignments in various countries, including Algeria, South Korea, Iran, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. In July 2020, Koovakad returned to Rome to work as an official in the Secretariat of State. He was responsible for organizing Pope Francis’ international travels from 2021 to 2024.
The pope elevated Koovakad to cardinal on Dec. 7, 2024, and appointed him as prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in January.
Cardinal Francis “Frank” Leo, born on June 30, 1971, in Montreal to Italian immigrant parents, is the current archbishop of Toronto. He was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Montreal in 1996. Leo holds a doctorate in systematic theology with a specialization in Mariology from the University of Dayton. He served as the general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2015 to 2021 and was appointed archbishop of Toronto in 2023, an archdiocese with a population of about 2 million Catholics.
Pope Francis made Leo a cardinal in December 2024.
Statue of St. Peter on St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican / Daniel Ibáñez / CNA
CNA Newsroom, Apr 28, 2025 / 07:13 am (CNA).
The College of Cardinals announced Monday that the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.
The pivotal proclamation came following a morning General Congregation meeting at the Vatican, where cardinals have been gathering daily since Pope Francis’ burial at St. Mary Major Basilica on April 26.
The date falls within the traditional 15-20 day window following a pope’s death, allowing sufficient time for the “novendiales” mourning period and for cardinal electors to arrive from across the globe.
Of the 134 cardinals who will take part — those under 80 years of age — nearly all have already arrived in Rome. The remaining few are expected within days, according to Vatican sources.
The voting will take place beneath Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
Following tradition, the cardinals will celebrate a “Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff” in St. Peter’s Basilica on the morning of May 7 before processing into the Sistine Chapel while chanting the “Veni Creator Spiritus,” invoking the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Once inside, each cardinal will take an oath to observe the procedures, maintain secrecy, and vote freely for the candidate they believe most worthy. The chapel doors will then be closed to the outside world until a new pope is chosen.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the conclave. A two-thirds majority — 90 votes — is required to elect the new pope.
The world will watch for the traditional signals from the Sistine Chapel chimney: black smoke indicating an inconclusive ballot, white smoke announcing that a new pope has been elected.
Pope Francis was responsible for appointing 108 of the cardinal electors who will now choose his successor, dramatically reshaping the geographic makeup of the College of Cardinals during his pontificate. The college now includes representatives from countries with small Catholic populations and from regions previously underrepresented in papal elections.
The statue of St. Peter at the square named for him in the Vatican. / Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA
CNA Staff, Apr 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
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Scenes from the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025 / Vatican
Rome Newsroom, Apr 27, 2025 / 21:29 pm (CNA).
The six-kilometer journey that transported Pope Francis’ body from St. Peter’s Basilica to St. Mary Major featured profound symbol… […]
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