Here are the latest statistics relating to the composition of the College of Cardinals following the recent nominations: Of the 125 cardinals who have the right to vote in a future Conclave, 57 are European and 26 of these Italian
In his second batch of cardinal “creations” Pope Francis showed he is following along the path he set out on a year ago, giving the red biretta to a number of bishops from the world’s peripheries, bishops who are heads of dioceses or from countries that have never had a cardinal before. A quick look at the latest figures relating to each country and subdivided into seven main geographical areas, published by Italian Catholic blog Il Sismografo, shows that just under half of the cardinals in the electoral college of cardinals are Europeans. The electoral college of cardinals is the section of the College of Cardinals that is made up of prelates under the age of 80 who are therefore eligible to vote in a Conclave. This is according to what was established in the Motu Proprio Ingravescentem Aetatem issued by Paul VI in 1970.
In the Consistory that will be held on February 14th, the total number of cardinals will be 228, 125 of these will be electors and 103 will be over-80s. 34 of the cardinal electors were nominated by John Paul II, 60 by Benedict XVI and 31 by Francis. The figures relating to each continent show that Europe has 57 cardinal electors, the Americas have 36 (subdivided as such: North America 18; Central America 6; South America 12), Africa has 15, Asia has 14 and Oceania has 3.
The cardinal electors represent 56 different countries. Only two countries are represented by cardinal electors whose numbers are composed of two digits: Italy and the United States. Italy has as many as 26 cardinals with the right to vote in a Conclave, 10 of them are residential bishops and 16 are members of the Curia: this accounts for 21% of the electoral college. Meanwhile, the US has 11 cardinal electors.
Regarding the percentages of Curia and residential cardinals that form the electoral college of cardinals, yesterday, Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire, highlighted that of the 125 cardinals who are eligible to vote, 34 are members of the Roman Curia (members who are still in service or emeritus members under the age of 80): Curia cardinals therefore account for 27% of the electoral college. Until now, 33 out of 110 were Curia members (30%), while at the moment of the March 2013 Conclave which elected Francis Pope, 40 out of 115 were Curia members (35%).
This drop from 35% to 27% shows an interesting trend. But it is not quite as dramatic as the drop witnessed during Pius XII’s Consistory: At the March 1939 Conclave that elected Pius XII Pope, almost half of the cardinals were members of the Roman Curia. This figure dropped to 24% in the 1946 Consistory but rose again in the years and pontificates that followed.
