A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available individually or in groups to the pope if he requests their counsel. Most cardinals have additional duties, such as leading a diocese or archdiocese or running a department of the Roman Curia.
A cardinal's other main function is electing the pope whenever, by death or resignation, the seat becomes vacant. In 1059, the right of electing the pope was reserved to the principal clergy of Rome and the bishops of the seven suburbicarian sees. During the sede vacante, the period between a pope's death and the election of his successor, the day-to-day governance of the Church as a whole is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to enter the conclave of cardinals who elect the pope is now limited to those who are not over 80 years old on the day of the pope's death or resignation.
The term cardinal at one time applied to any priest permanently assigned or incardinated to a church,[1] or specifically to the senior priest of an important church, based on the Latin cardo (hinge), meaning "principal" or "chief". The term was applied in this sense as early as the ninth century to the priests of the tituli (parishes) of the diocese of Rome.[1] A remnant of these earlier, less lofty Cardinals, is retained by the Church of England, where the title of "Cardinal" is up to the present held by the two senior members of the College of Minor Canons of St Paul's Cathedral.
In the twelfth century the practice of appointing ecclesiastics from outside Rome as cardinals began, with each of them being assigned a church in Rome as his titular church, or being linked with one of the suburbicarian dioceses, while still being incardinated in a diocese other than that of Rome.
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The election of the pope was not always reserved to the cardinals; the pope was originally elected by the clergy and the people of the diocese of Rome. In medieval times, Roman nobility gained influence. The Holy Roman Emperors had a hand in choosing the pontiff. But as the pope gained greater political independence, the right of election was with the bull In nomine Domini reserved to cardinals in 1059, leaving the emperor only with a vague right of approbation.
However the influence of temporal rulers, notably the French kings, largely reemerged via cardinals of certain nationalities or politically significant movements; there even developed traditions entitling certain monarchs — e.g. of Austria, Spain, and Portugal — to nominate one of their trusted clerical subjects to be created cardinal, a so-called crown-cardinal.
In theory, the pope could substitute another body of electors for the College of Cardinals. Some proposed that the Synod of Bishops should perform this function, a proposal that was not accepted, because, among other reasons, the Synod of Bishops can only meet when called by the pope.
In early modern times, cardinals often had important roles in secular affairs. In some cases, they took on powerful positions in government. An example of this was found in Henry VIII's England where his chief minister was Cardinal Wolsey. An even more prominent example is that of Cardinal Richelieu, whose power was so great that he was for many years the real ruler of France.[2] Richelieu was so successful that his successor, Jules Mazarin, was also a cardinal. Guillaume Dubois and André-Hercule de Fleury complete the list of the "four great" cardinals to have ruled France.
As of 2011, the youngest cardinal is Reinhard Marx (born 1953, elevated 2010) - the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. The oldest living cardinal, following the death of Cardinal Mayer in 2010, is Ersilio Tonini, the Archbishop Emeritus of Ravenna-Cervia (born 1914, elevated 1994).
Pope Sixtus V limited the number of cardinals to 70, composed of six cardinal bishops, 50 cardinal priests, and 14 cardinal deacons; however, Pope John XXIII began to exceed the overall limit of 70, and this continued under his successors. At the start of 1971, Pope Paul VI set an age limit of eighty years for electors, who were to number no more than 120, but set no limit to the number of cardinals as a whole, including those over eighty. (As a result of the setting of the age limit at the start of 1971, twenty-five living cardinals lost the right to participate in a conclave.) Since Popes can dispense from church laws,[3] they have sometimes brought the number of cardinals under the age of 80 to more than 120, perhaps calculating that the number would be sufficiently reduced by the time the need for a conclave would arise.[4][5][6] And in fact, since the 120 limit was enacted, no conclave has been held with even a full 120 entitled to participate. Pope Paul VI also increased the number of cardinal bishops by giving that rank to patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches who are made cardinals.
Each cardinal takes on a titular church, either a church in the city of Rome or one of the suburbicarian sees. The only exception is for patriarchs of Eastern Catholic Churches. The Dean of the College of Cardinals in addition to such a titular church also receives the titular bishopric of Ostia, the primary suburbicarian see. Cardinals governing a particular Church retain that church.
Since 1630, cardinals have taken the style Eminence. In accordance with tradition, they sign by placing the title "Cardinal" (abbreviated Card.) after their personal name and before their surname as, for instance, "John Card(inal) Doe" or, in Latin, "Ioannes Card(inalis) Cognomen". Similarly, the official signature of popes inserts the Latin title Papa (abbreviated Pp.[7] immediately after the personal name, as "Benedictus Pp. XVI" for Pope Benedict XVI. Some writers, such as James-Charles Noonan,[8] hold that, in the case of cardinals, the form used for signatures should be used also when referring to them, even in English; and this is the usual but not the only way of referring to cardinals in Latin.[9] Several influential stylebooks, both secular[10] and religious,[11] however, indicate that the correct form for referring to a cardinal in English is as "Cardinal <Name> <Surname>. This style is also that generally followed on the websites of the Holy See and episcopal conferences.[12]
A well-known instance of the "John Cardinal Doe" style is that in the proclamation, in Latin, of the election of a new pope by the cardinal protodeacon: "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum (first name) Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem (last name), ..."[13] (Meaning: "I announce to you a great joy; we have a Pope: The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord, Lord (first name) Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (last name), ...")
Cardinal bishops, or cardinals of the Episcopal Order, are among the most senior prelates of the Catholic Church. Since most cardinals are also bishops, the title of cardinal bishop only means that the cardinal in question holds the title of one of the "suburbicarian" sees — they include the Dean of the College of Cardinals — or is a patriarch of an Eastern Catholic church.
The cardinal bishops are the only order of cardinals who have always been required to be bishops, and in former times when a cardinal of one of the lower orders became a cardinal bishop, and so the head of a diocese, he was consecrated a bishop. Since 1962 all cardinals have been required to receive episcopal consecration unless they were granted an exemption from this obligation by the Pope; however, since each of the suburbicarian sees is now headed by its own bishop and not the cardinal bishop himself, theoretically, a cardinal could now occupy any rank within the Sacred College without receiving episcopal consecration.
The Dean, the head (as primus inter pares) of the College of Cardinals, is elected by the cardinal bishops holding suburbicarian sees from among their own number, an election, however, that must be approved by the pope. Formerly the position of Dean belonged to the longest-serving of the cardinal bishops, all six of whom then headed a suburbicarian see. Though these sees are now seven (Ostia and Velletri having been separated in 1914), there are only six cardinal bishops, since the Dean always adds the title of Ostia to his original suburbicarian diocese.
In early times the privilege of papal election was not reserved to the cardinals, and for centuries the pope was customarily a Roman priest and never a bishop from elsewhere; to preserve apostolic succession the rite of consecrating the pope as a bishop had to be performed by someone who was already a bishop. The rule remains that, if the person elected pope is not yet a bishop, he is consecrated by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, the Cardinal bishop of Ostia.
Currently the cardinal bishops of the suburbicarian diocese are:
For a period ending in the mid-20th century, long-serving cardinal priests were entitled to fill vacancies that arose among the cardinal bishops, just as cardinal deacons of ten years' standing are still entitled to become cardinal priests. Since then, cardinals have been advanced to cardinal bishop exclusively by Papal appointment.
In 1965 Pope Paul VI decreed in his motu proprio Ad Purpuratorum Patrum that patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches who were named cardinals would also be part of the episcopal order, ranked after the six cardinal bishops of the suburbicarian sees (who had been relieved of direct responsibilities for those sees by Pope John XXIII three years earlier). Not holding a suburbicarian see, they cannot elect the dean nor become dean. The four Eastern patriarchs who are now cardinal bishops are the following:
The Latin Rite Patriarchs of Lisbon and Venice, while in practice always made cardinals at the consistory after they take possession of their sees, are made cardinal priests, not cardinal bishops. Although the incumbents of such prestigious sees are usually created cardinal, no see carries an actual right to the cardinalate.
Cardinal priests are the most numerous of the three orders of cardinals in the Catholic Church, ranking above the cardinal deacons and below the cardinal bishops. Those who are named cardinal priests today are generally bishops of important dioceses throughout the world, though some hold Curial positions.
In modern times the name "cardinal priest" is interpreted as meaning a cardinal who is of the order of priests. Originally, however, this referred to certain key priests of important churches of the Diocese of Rome, who were recognized as the cardinal priests, the important priests chosen by the pope to advise him in his duties as Bishop of Rome (the Latin cardo means "hinge"). Certain clerics in many dioceses at the time, not just that of Rome, were said to be the key personnel — the term gradually became exclusive to Rome to indicate those entrusted with electing the bishop of Rome, the pope.
While the cardinalate has long been expanded beyond the Roman pastoral clergy and Roman Curia, every cardinal priest has titular church in Rome, though they may be bishops or archbishops elsewhere, just as cardinal bishops are given one of the suburban dioceses around Rome. Pope Paul VI abolished all administrative rights cardinals had with regard to their titular churches, though the cardinal's name and coat of arms are still posted in the church, and they are expected to preach there if convenient when they are in Rome.
While the number of cardinals was small from the times of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance, and frequently smaller than the number of recognized churches entitled to a cardinal priest, in the 16th century the College expanded markedly. In 1587 Pope Sixtus V sought to arrest this growth by fixing the maximum size of the College at 70, including 50 cardinal priests, about twice the historical number. This limit was respected until 1958, and the list of titular churches modified only on rare occasions, generally due to a building falling into disrepair. When Pope John XXIII abolished the limit, he began to add new churches to the list, which Popes Paul VI and John Paul II continued to do. Today there are close to 150 titular churches, out of over 300 churches in Rome.
The cardinal who is the longest-serving member of the order of cardinal priests is titled cardinal protopriest. He had certain ceremonial duties in the conclave that have effectively ceased because he would generally be over the age of 80, past which cardinals are barred from the conclave. The current cardinal protopriest is Eugênio de Araújo Sales of Brazil.
The cardinal deacons are the lowest-ranking cardinals. Cardinals elevated to the diaconal order are either officials of the Roman Curia or priests elevated after their 80th birthday. Bishops with diocesan responsibilities, however, are created cardinal priests.
Cardinal deacons derive originally from the seven deacons in the Papal Household and the seven deacons who supervised the Church's works in the districts of Rome during the early Middle Ages, when church administration was effectively the government of Rome and provided all social services. Cardinal deacons are given title to one of these deaconries.
Under the 1587 decree of Pope Sixtus V, which fixed the maximum size of the College of Cardinals, there were 14 cardinal deacons. Later the number increased. As of 2005, there were over 50 churches recognized as cardinalatial deaconries, though there were only 30 cardinals of the order of deacons. Cardinal deacons have long enjoyed the right to "opt for the order of cardinal priests" (optazione) after they have been cardinal deacons for 10 years. They may on such elevation take a vacant "title" (a church allotted to a cardinal priest as the Roman church with which he is associated) or their diaconal church may be temporarily elevated to a cardinal priest's "title" for that occasion. When elevated to cardinal priests, they take their precedence according to the day they were first made cardinal deacons (thus ranking above cardinal priests who were elevated to the college after them, regardless of order).
When not celebrating Mass but still serving a liturgical function, such as the semiannual Urbi et Orbi papal blessing, some Papal Masses and some events at Ecumenical Councils, cardinal deacons can be recognized by the dalmatics they would don with the simple white mitre (so called mitra simplex).
The Cardinal protodeacon or Senior Cardinal Deacon (that is, the senior cardinal deacon in order of appointment to the College of Cardinals) has the privilege of announcing a new pope's election and name (once he has been ordained to the Episcopate[14]) from the central balcony at the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City State. In the past, during papal coronations, the Proto-Deacon also had the honor of bestowing the pallium on the new pope and crowning him with the papal tiara. The Proto-Deacon's privilege of crowning a new pope ended when Pope John Paul I chose not to be crowned and opted for a simpler papal inauguration ceremony, and his two immediate successors also decided not to be crowned. However, the Proto-Deacon still has the privilege of bestowing the pallium on a new pope at his papal inauguration. “Acting in the place of the Roman Pontiff, he also confers the pallium upon metropolitan bishops or gives the pallium to their proxies.”[15] The current Cardinal Proto-Deacon is Jean-Louis Tauran.
The Cardinal Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, assisted by the Vice-Camerlengo and the other prelates of the office known as the Apostolic Camera, has functions that in essence are limited to a period of sede vacante of the papacy. He is to collate information about the financial situation of all administrations dependent on the Holy See and present the results to the College of Cardinals, as they gather for the papal conclave.[16]
Until 1917 it was possible for someone who was not a priest, but only in minor orders, to become a cardinal (see "lay cardinals", below), but they were enrolled only in the order of cardinal deacons. For example, in the 16th century, Reginald Pole was a cardinal for 18 years before he was ordained a priest. In 1917 it was established that all cardinals, even cardinal deacons, had to be priests,[17] and in 1962, John XXIII set the norm that all cardinals be bishops. Consequently, canon 351 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law requires that a cardinal be at least in the order of priesthood at his appointment, and that those who are not already bishops must receive episcopal consecration, a rule from which dispensation may be obtained from the pope, as by Cardinals Avery Dulles, Roberto Tucci, Albert Vanhoye, and most recently Domenico Bartolucci. A cardinal who is not a bishop is still entitled to wear and use the episcopal vestments and other pontificalia (episcopal regalia: mitre, crozier, zucchetto, pectoral cross and ring). Almost all of the prominent priests who were elevated to the cardinalate as cardinal-deacons were near or over the age of 80 when elevated, and so would not have participated in a papal conclave. For those priests over 80 who became cardinal-deacons and were not ordained to the episcopacy, this is the highest position they can normally attain in the Church hierarchy (though all cardinals rank above bishops in rank and order of precedence, those cardinals who are not bishops do not have the right to perform the functions reserved solely to bishops, such as ordination).
At various times there have been cardinals who had only received first tonsure and minor orders but not yet been ordained as deacons or priests. Though clerics, they were inaccurately called "lay cardinals" and were permitted to marry. Teodolfo Mertel was among the last of the lay cardinals. When he died in 1899 he was the last surviving cardinal who was not at least ordained a priest. With the revision of the Code of Canon Law promulgated in 1917 by Pope Benedict XV, only those who are already priests or bishops may be appointed cardinals.[18] Since the time of Pope John XXIII a priest who is appointed a cardinal must be consecrated a bishop, unless he obtains a dispensation.[19]
In addition to the named cardinals, the pope may name secret cardinals or cardinals in pectore (Latin for in the breast).
During the Western Schism many cardinals were created by the contending popes. Beginning with the reign of Pope Martin V,[1] cardinals were created without publishing their names until later, termed creati et reservati in pectore.[20]
A cardinal named in pectore is known only to the pope; not even the cardinal so named is necessarily aware of his elevation, and in any event cannot function as a cardinal while his appointment is in pectore. Today, cardinals are named in pectore to protect them or their congregations from reprisals if their identities were known.
If conditions change, so that the pope judges it safe to make the appointment public, he may do so at any time. The cardinal in question then ranks in precedence with those raised to the cardinalate at the time of his in pectore appointment. If a pope dies before revealing the identity of an in pectore cardinal, the cardinalate expires. Some speculate that the pope could leave instructions in writing, perhaps in his will, for the appointment to be made known after his death; but it is difficult to imagine a case in which the pope would consider that his own death would remove the obstacle in the way of publishing the name.
Of the 232 cardinals that Pope John Paul II elevated, four were named in pectore.[21][22] The identities of three of these were subsequently revealed:
When in choir dress, a Latin-rite cardinal wears scarlet garments — the blood-like red symbolizes a cardinal's willingness to die for his faith.[23][24] Excluding the rochet — which is always white — the scarlet garments include the cassock, mozzetta, and biretta (over the usual scarlet zucchetto). The biretta of a cardinal is distinctive not merely for its scarlet color, but also for the fact that it does not have a pompon or tassel on the top as do the birettas of other prelates. Until the 1460s, it was customary for cardinals to wear a violet or blue cape unless granted the privilege of wearing red when acting on papal business. His normal-wear simar is black but has scarlet piping and a scarlet fascia (sash-like belt). Occasionally, a cardinal wears a scarlet ferraiolo which is a cape worn over the shoulders, tied at the neck in a bow by narrow strips of cloth in the front, without any 'trim' or piping on it. (It is because of the scarlet color of cardinals' vesture that the bird of the same name has become known as such.)[25]
Eastern-rite cardinals continue to wear the normal dress appropriate to their rite, though some may line their cassocks with scarlet and wear scarlet fascias, or in some cases, wear Eastern-style cassocks entirely of scarlet. (There is a painting[26] of Josyf Slipyj, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and Cardinal, wearing the traditional eastern bishop's habit and the now abolished cardinal's galero.)
In previous times, at the consistory at which the pope named a new cardinal, he would bestow upon him a distinctive wide-brimmed hat called a galero. This custom has been discontinued, and the investiture now takes place with the scarlet biretta. In ecclesiastical heraldry, however, the scarlet galero is still displayed on the cardinal's coat of arms. Cardinals had the right to display the galero in their cathedral, and when a cardinal died, it would be suspended from the ceiling above his tomb. Some cardinals will still have a galero made, even though it is not officially part of their apparel.
To symbolize their bond with the papacy, the pope gives each newly appointed cardinal a gold ring,[27] which is traditionally kissed by Catholics when greeting a cardinal (as with a bishop's episcopal ring). The pope chooses the image on the outside: under Pope Benedict XVI it is a modern depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus, with Mary and John to each side. The ring includes the pope's coat of arms on the inside.
Cardinals have in canon law a "privilege of forum" (i.e., exemption from being judged by ecclesiastical tribunals of ordinary rank): only the pope is competent to judge them in matters subject to ecclesiastical jurisdiction (cases that refer to matters that are spiritual or linked with the spiritual, or with regard to infringement of ecclesiastical laws and whatever contains an element of sin, where culpability must be determined and the appropriate ecclesiastical penalty imposed). This does not exempt them from being judged for alleged violations of civil law. The pope either decides the case himself or delegates the decision to another tribunal, usually one of the tribunals or congregations of the Roman Curia. Absent such delegation, other ecclesiastical courts, even the Roman Rota, are incompetent to judge a case against a cardinal.[28]
