Pope Benedict XVI names new cardinals

Pope Benedict XVI has named 22 new cardinals.

The list of the popes, from which the successor of Pope Benedict would be chosen from, include popes from United States, Spain, India, Italy, Brazil, Canada, Czech Rep., Portugal, China, Malta, Romania, Germany, Malta and Belgium. Eighteen of them are under 80 years old, while the remaining four are older than 80. Pope Benedict is 84.

The names of the new cardinals, announced after an Epiphany Mass that ended the Vatican's main Christmas celebrations, include:

• Santos Abril y Castello, (Spain), Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major

• George Alencherry, (India), Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church in India

• Giuseppe Bertello, (Italy), President of the Government of the Vatican City State

• Giuseppe Bettori, (Italy), Archbishop of Florence

• João Braz de Aviz, (Brazil), Prefect of the Congregation for Religious

• Domenico Calcagno, (Italy), President of the Apostolic Patrimony of the Holy See

• Francesco Coccopalmerio, (Italy), President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts

• Thomas Collins, (Canada), Archbishop of Toronto

• Timothy Dolan, (United States) Archbishop of New York

• Dominik Duka, (Czech Rep.), Archbishop of Prague

• Wim Eijk, (Dutch), Archbishop of Utrecht

• Fernando Filoni, (Italy), Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples

• Antonio Maria Veglio, (Italy), President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Refugees

• Manuel Monteiro de Castro, (Portugal), Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary

• Edwin O'Brien, (United States), Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

• John Tong Hon, (China), Bishop of Hong Kong

• Giuseppe Versaldi, (Italy), President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See

• Thomas Woelki, (Germany), Archbishop of Berlin

• Karl Becker (Germany), a priest and professor

• Prosper Grech, (Maltese), a priest and professor

• Lucian Muresan (Romania), an archbishop

• Julien Ries, (Belgium), a monsignor and professor

- Your Pal