Rorate Caeli

Notable absences in the new consistory

My greatest surprise in this morning's announcement, by His Holiness, of the new consistory long predicted for March 24 (see list here in the Bulletin) was the absence of the Archbishop of Paris, André Vingt-Trois (the emeritus, Cardinal Lustiger, will turn 80 next September). The French choice fell on the Archbishop of Bordeaux and president of the French Episcopal Conference, Jean-Pierre Ricard. The Pope decided, as it had been rumored in the Italian Press, for a small consistory -- and it is probable that there will be yearly small consistories during his pontificate.

By region of the world, these are the choices of voting cardinals:

Europe: Franc Rodé (C. Religious), Agostino Vallini (Apostolic Signatura), Jean-Pierre Ricard (Bordeaux), Antonio Cañizares Llovera (Toledo), Stanislaw Dziwisz (Krakow), Carlo Caffarra (Bologna).

North America: William Levada (C. Doctrine of the Faith), Sean O'Malley (Boston)

Latin America: Jorge Urosa Savino (Caracas)

Asia: Gaudencio Rosales (Manila), Nicolas Cheong-Jin-Suk (Seoul), Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun (Hong Kong, China)

Note 1: Cardinal Zen Ze-Kiun is the first prelate from the People's Republic of China (true, Hong Kong, but the People's Republic, nonetheless) to be made Cardinal since Cardinal Kung, in 1979. Note 2: Only one cardinal from Latin America.