Pope Benedict Names 22 New Cardinals

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been named cardinal by the Vatican. Dolan is one of 22 prelates who will be elevated to cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church in a formal ceremony Feb. 18. Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement on Friday following an Epiphany Mass that ends the Vatican's top Christmas celebrations. Eighteen of them, including Archbishop Dolan, are under the age of 80 and are therefore eligible to participate in the conclave to elect a new pope after Benedict dies.

The new cardinals named by the Vatican include archbishops from Florence, Berlin, Hong Kong, Prague and Toronto. About half of the new group currently serves in the Vatican hierarchy, known as the Roman Curia.

The new appointments raise to 125 the number of cardinals who can serve in a conclave. They bring to 214 the total number of cardinals, of whom half are from Europe, including 52 Italians.

Vatican watchers say that since Pope Benedict was elected pope in 2005, the Vatican hierarchy has been increasingly dominated by Italians and Europeans, even as the majority of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America and Africa.

The full list:

1. Msgr. Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples;

2. Msgr. Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Major Penitentiary;

3. Msgr. Santos Abril Y Castellò, Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major;

4. Msgr Antonio Maria Veglio, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People;

5. Msgr. Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of the same State;

6. Msgr Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts;

7. Msgr Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life;

8. Msgr Edwin O’Brien, Pro Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem;

9. Msgr. Domenico Calcagno, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See;

10. Msgr Giuseppe Versaldi, President of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See;

11. His Beatitude George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro Malabar (India);

12. Msgr Thomas Christopher Collins, Archbishop of Toronto (Canada);

13. Msgr Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague (Czech Republic);

14. Msgr Willem Jacobus Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht (Netherlands);

15. Msgr. Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence (Italy);

16. Msgr Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York (United States);

17. Msgr. Rainer Maria Woelk, Archbishop of Berlin (Federal Republic of Germany);

18. Msgr John Tong Hon, Bishop of Hong Kong (China);

The Holy Father has also decided to raise to the dignity of Cardinal a revered prelate, who carries out his ministry as Pastor and Father of the Church, and three clergymen recognized for their distinguished service to the Church.

They are:

1. His Beatitude Lucian Muresan, Major Archbishop of Fagaras and Alba Julia of the Romanians (Romania);

2. Rev. Julien Ries, priest of the Diocese of Namur and professor emeritus of history of religions at the Catholic University of Louvain;

3. Fr. Prospero Grech, OSA, Professor Emeritus of various Roman universities and Consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;

4. Fr. Karl Becker, SJ, Professor Emeritus of the Pontifical Gregorian University, Consultant for many years the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Holy Father asked all the faithful “to pray for the newly elected members, asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, that they bear witness always with courage and dedication to their love for Christ and his Church.”