Pope Francis Names Five New Latin American Cardinals

News Americas, New York, NY, Mon. Oct. 7, 2024: Pope Francis has named five Latin American Monsignors among 21 new Cardinals following his Sunday Angelus. The Consistory for the creation of the new Cardinals will take place in December 2024, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, at the Vatican.

Pope Francis presides over the Prayer of the Holy Rosary to implore the gift of peace in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. Rome (Italy), October 6th, 2024 (Photo by Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

The Pope, originally from Argentina, emphasized that the Cardinal-elects come from diverse parts of the world, highlighting the universal reach of the Catholic Church. The Latin American Cardinal-elects are:

Mgr. Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio, Archbishop of Lima (Peru)

Msgr. Vicente Bokalic Iglic, Archbishop of Santiago del Estero (Argentina)

Msgr. Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, O.F.M., Archbishop of Guayaquil (Ecuador)

Msgr. Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, Archbishop of Santiago de Chile (Chile)

Msgr. Jaime Spengler, O.F.M., Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brazil)

Pope Francis remarked that these appointments “express the universality of the Church, which continues to proclaim God’s merciful love to all people on earth,” and reaffirmed the deep bond between the See of Peter and the global Church. He asked the faithful to pray for the new Cardinals as they prepare to assist him in his ministry for the benefit of God’s people.

The December Consistory will come just before the opening of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope and after the conclusion of the Second Session of the Synod on Synodality. This follows Pope Francis’ previous consistory in September 2023, held just before the First Session of the Synod.

After the upcoming Consistory, the College of Cardinals will grow to 256 members, including 141 electors eligible to vote in a future papal conclave.

The remaining new Cardinals hail from various parts of the globe, including Japan, the Philippines, Serbia, Ivory Coast, and Iran, further reflecting the Church’s global mission.