, 07 Mar. 23 (ACI Press).-
Pope Francis has chosen the Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omella, and the President of the Governorate of Vatican City, Cardinal Fernando Vérguez, as new members of the Council of Cardinals.
These two Spaniards are part of the group of nine Cardinals since Tuesday who directly advise the Pontiff. Spain thus becomes the only nation with two representatives.
Together with them, the Pope maintains in the advisory body the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu.
Also continuing in that position are the Archbishop of Bombay (India), Cardinal Oswald Gracias, and the Archbishop of Boston (United States), Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley.
The Archbishop of Quebec (Canada), Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix; the Archbishop of Luxembourg, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich; and the Archbishop of San Salvador de Bahía (Brazil), Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha.
The Italian Archbishop Marco Mellino, Bishop of Cresima, remains the secretary of the Cardinals’ advisory group.
The Archbishop Emeritus of Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Cardinal Rodríguez Madariaga; the Archbishop of Munich (Germany), Cardinal Reinhard Marx and the ex-governor of the Vatican State, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello.
Council of Cardinals
The Council of Cardinals has its origin in the General Congregations that preceded the conclave in which Pope Francis was elected.
The organization has been in operation since September 2013, only six months after the arrival of the Argentine to the Petrine ministry.
The body’s objective is to help the Pontiff “in the government of the universal Church, as well as to study a draft revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus on the Roman Curia”, as expressed by Pope Francis.
The Cardinals who become part of what is known as C-9 advise in a personal capacity, although, as in the case of the Archbishop of Barcelona, he is the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
On the other hand, by occupying this position, they acquire relevance among the College of Cardinals, which could be important at the time when a new successor to Saint Peter is to be chosen.
