Cardinal-designate Raymond BurkeThese new cardinals will include two Americans- former Archbishop of Saint Louis, Raymond Burke and Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C.
The consistory and the Mass will air at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV at noon and 8PM (EST) on November 20th and 21st.
Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston will discuss the consistory and the new cardinals during his show “Conversations with Cardinal Seán”. This special episode will air during the week of November the 15th at the following times: Wednesday 1:30PM; Friday 4PM; and Saturday 4AM.
According to a Catholic New Agency article, “Cardinals are considered within the Church to be the Pope's closest advisors. All belong to the College of Cardinals, the body whose main function is to elect a new Pontiff. Cardinals under 80 years of age are allowed to vote in such an election, while those over 80 can serve only in the capacity of counselors. Traditionally, the number of voting-age cardinals is kept at 120, while the total number of cardinals -- including the non-voting cardinals -- has no specific limit.”
This will be the third time the Pope has called a consistory to create new cardinals. Pope Benedict has now named 62, or more than half, of the current College of Cardinals. The consistory will be held in the Sistine Chapel. Pope Benedict will concelebrate Mass with the new cardinals on November 21st at St. Peter's Basilica.
On October 20th, Pope Benedict said, “The universality of the church is reflected in the list of new cardinals.” Over a dozen countries are represented by the new cardinals, including four African countries, two Latin America countries, two Cardinals from North America, and one representing Asia.
