How many Ecuadorian priests formed the College of Cardinals, the entity responsible for electing the new Pope

On September 30, the Catholic Church will have 21 new cardinals, five of whom will be South Americans. While the announcement of the addition was made last August, the event will take place later this month.

The College of Cardinals, founded in 1150, consists of the cardinals of the Roman Church and is among the responsibilities of electing the popes who lead the college. They also assist the Pope both collegially and personally through the offices assigned to them.

In accordance with canon law, the college is divided into three orders: episcopal, presbyteral and diaconal. “To each cardinal of the presbyteral and diaconal order, the Roman Pope confers a title or diaconate of the city,” it was specified.

South America will have five new cardinals in September, three of whom will have the right to vote to elect the next pope

It is the power of the Pope to freely choose those who are promoted to cardinal, although they must be men who have received at least one prebisterate and who are particularly distinguished. “Those who are not yet bishops must receive episcopal ordination,” it was explained.

The appointment is made by decree and is made public to the council.

The Holy See explained that the cardinals emerged from the 25 quasi-parish churches of Rome. By 1150 the College of Cardinals had a dean and a camerlegno, although they had been exclusive electors of the pope almost a century earlier.

Sixtus V set the number of cardinals at 70, although this was revoked by John XXIII in 1958. It was Paul VI who decreed that upon reaching the age of 80, cardinals will cease to be “members of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and of all permanent organizations of the Holy See and the Vatican City; and they lose the right to elect the Pope of Rome and thereby also the right to convene a conclave.”

Currently, there are 221 cardinals who are part of the college, but only 119 have voting rights. Of this group, 9 were appointed by John Paul II, 29 during the pontificate of Benedict XVI and 81 during that of Francis.

Five Ecuadorian priests have joined the College of Cardinals. The first to be appointed cardinal was Carlos María Javier de la Torre y Nieto, who received the predicate of Pius XII on January 12, 1953, at the age of 79. He took part in the 1958 conclave and died in the early hours of July 31, 1968 at the age of 94.

The second Ecuadorian priest to receive this award was Pablo Munoz Vega. Pope Paul VI did this on March 29, 1969, at the age of 65. He took part in the election of Paul I during the conclave of August 1978, and also in the election of John Paul II in October of that year.

He died on June 3, 1994, at the age of 91.

The third priest to be appointed cardinal was a monsignor Bernardino Echeverria Ruiz, who was appointed by John Paul II on November 26, 1994 at the age of 82 and could no longer participate in the conclave for the election of a new pope. He died on April 6, 2000, at the age of 87.

The most recently appointed cardinals were monsignors Antonio José González Zumárragawho was promoted to cardinal by John Paul II on February 21, 2001, with the title Santa María del Camino.

He died on October 13, 2008 at the age of 83 and did not vote in the 2005 election of Benedict XVI.

The last cardinal was Raul Vela Chiribogawho received the award from Benedict XVI on November 20, 2010 at the age of 76.

He was part of the electors who elected Pope Francis during the 2013 conclave. He died on November 15, 2020 at the age of 86. (JO)