Pope Benedict XVI will hold a consistory to elevate new members of the College of Cardinals on November 24, according to an Italian newspaper report.Andrea Tornielli, a respected Vatican-watcher for the daily Il Giornale, says that the consistory will take place on the eve of the feast of Christ the King.
The Vatican has not officially announced plans for a consistory, but rumors about the appointment of new cardinals have circulated in Rome for several months, and many observers had expected Pope Benedict to call a consistory earlier this year.
There are now 183 living cardinals, of whom 105 are below the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote in a papal conclave. Thus the number of cardinal-electors is well below the statutory limit of 120.
Two more cardinals will mark their 80th birthdays this autumn. Cardinal Edmund Szoka, the former president of the Vatican City governatorate, will be 80 on September 14.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano , the former Secretary of State, will celebrate his birthday on November 23 - the day before the consistory, if Tornielli's report is accurate. Three more cardinals will turn 80 during 2008.
The Tornielli column in Il Giornale lists the names of several prelates who are likely to receive red hats at the next consistory.
They include Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, the former sostituto who was recently named prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches; Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the current president of the Vatican City governatorate; Archbishop John Foley, the American prelate who was the longtime head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications before his recent appointment as pro-Grandmaster of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre; and Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, the president of the Italian bishops' conference.
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