Pope names 15 new cardinals and five new archbishops and bishops emeriti

The consistory will be held at the Vatican on February 20 Credit: Reuters

The Pope has named 20 new senior religious leaders from 14 countries as diverse as Vietnam, Tonga, Ethiopia and Mexico in an effort to unite the Catholic church around the world.

Pope Francis announced that he will hold the special ceremony to install 15 new cardinals, known as a consistory, at the Vatican on February 14.

He has also named five new archbishops and bishops emeriti.

The new cardinals, many of whom are under 80, have been appointed to the elite group of religious leaders at the top of the Roman Catholic herarchy - meaning they will be allowed to enter the conclave to choose his successor after his death or resignation.

He said that by choosing new religious leaders from many different countries from every continent, he wanted to "show the inseparable bond between the Church of Rome and the particular churches around the world."

The consistory will be held at the Vatican on February 20 Credit: Reuters

The new cardinals are:

  • Mons. Dominique Mamberti, Titular Archbishop of Sagona, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

  • Mons. Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon (Portugal).

  • Mons. Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM, Archbishop of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

  • Msgr. John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington (New Zealand).

  • Mons. Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo (Italy).

  • Mons. Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon, Archbishop of Hanoi (Vietnam).

  • Msgr. Alberto Suárez Inda, Archbishop of Morelia (Mexico).

  • Mons. Charles Maung Bo, SDB, Archbishop of Yangon (Myanmar).

  • Mons. Kriengsak Kovitvanit, Archbishop of Bangkok (Thailand).

  • Mons. Francesco Montenegro, Archbishop of Agrigento (Italy).

  • Mons. Daniel Sturla, SDB, Archbishop of Montevideo (Uruguay).

  • Mons. Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, Archbishop of Valladolid (Spain).

  • Mons. José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan, OAR, Bishop of David (Panama).

  • Mons. Arlindo Gomes Furtado, Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde (Cape Verde Archipelago).

  • Mons. Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga (Tonga Islands).

The new archbishops and bishops emeriti are:

  • Mons. José de Jesús Rodríguez Pimiento, retired archbishop of Manizales.

  • Mons. Luigi De Magistris, Titular Archbishop of Nova, Pro-Penitentiary Emeritus.

  • Msgr. Karl-Joseph Rauber, Titular Archbishop of Giubalziana, Apostolic Nuncio.

  • Mons . Luis Héctor Villalba, Archbishop Emeritus of Tucumán.

  • Mons. Julio Duarte Langa, Bishop Emeritus of Xai-Xai.