Meet the 24 new cardinals

October 20, 2010. Benedict XVI announced he will appoint 24 new cardinals on November 20th. Among them are two Americans Archbishops: Donald William Wuerl of Washington, D.C., and Raymond Leo Burke, prefect of the Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

Other noteworthy appointees are the Archbishop of Aparecida, Brazil, Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Archbishop José Manuel Estepa Llaurens of Spain, Archbishop Emeritus of Quito, Ecuador, Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, and the Pope’s current delegate to the Legionaries of Christ, Velasio De Paolis.

In total there are 15 Europeans, ten from Italy alone, four Africans, two Americans, two from Latin America and one from Asia.

Among the new cardinals is the Egyptian Antonios Naguib, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, and the Archbishop of Warsaw, Poland, Kazimierz Nycz.

The Pope has also appointed senior Vatican officials such as the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Angelo Amato and the prefect of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi.

From the nominees, four are over 80 years old and therefore can not participate in a conclave. They include the Italians Elio Sgreccia and Domenico Bartolucci, the German Walter Brandmuller and Spaniard José Manuel Estepa Llaurens.

After the consistory, set for November 20th, the college of cardinals will hold 122 electors. Today there are 60 cardinals that have been named by Benedict XVI, 50 with voting powers and ten without.

This is the third consistory that Benedict XVI has celebrated in his papacy. The last was held in November 2007 when he named 23 new cardinals.

The new cardinals will receive the red biretta from the Pope on the 20th of November. The next day they will receive the cardinal’s ring in a solemn ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Only after completing these ceremonial rites can one enter a conclave.

When a conclave is called to elect a new Pope it is made up of a maximum of 120 cardinals. When a cardinal turns 80 he may retain his title but can no longer participate in a conclave.

Cardinals are identifiable by their red clothing—including their clerical robes the cassock and mozzetta, as well as their hats, the biretta and zucchetto. The color is meant to symbolize the cardinals’ willingness “to shed blood for the increase of the Christian faith.”

Cardinals are generally appointed to be members of specific Vatican agencies. They participate in consistories for important Church discussions, in addition to conclaves when selecting a new pope.

The pope is generally chosen from members of the College of Cardinals, though technically any unmarried Catholic male could be chosen.
(Source: Youtube – Romereports’ Channel)

10月23日在意大利韋爾切利册封阿方撒·克萊裏奇爲真福:她是微笑的靈魂

梵蒂岡電臺訊)10月23日,在意大利皮埃蒙特行政區韋爾切利主教座堂舉行册封真福彌撒,册封蒙扎寶血修女會阿方撒·克萊裏奇修女爲真福,彌撒大典由聖座封聖部部長阿馬托總主教主持。新真福一生致力于教學和照顧窮人,她來到韋爾切利是爲了履行她的傳教使命。

人們稱她爲微笑的靈魂,因爲她整個地、毫無條件地與上主結合在一起,完全遵守上主的安排,她笑顔常開,藉著教學和照顧窮人,使與她有接觸的人的靈魂歡樂。阿方撒修女于1860年出生在米蘭一個農民家庭,是10個孩子中的長女,從小受到必要的基督信仰教育,這有助于培育她的教學法。

阿方撒修女照顧窮人非常熱情,從來沒有吝嗇把愛的喜悅和精神給與他們。尋找她的人中,沒有任何人是空手而歸的,至少手中會有一塊麵包,一個硬幣或是一句安慰的話。

阿馬托總主教說:“新真福常說,以愛德對待窮人,意味著服務耶穌和愛耶穌”。他又說:“阿方撒 修女寫信給後來成了初學修女的她以前的學生時說:“如果你問我,要成聖該當走哪條路的話,我會對你說:謙遜。第二條路也是謙遜,第三條路還是謙遜”。