Pope Francis Announces a Surprise First

Names DC Archbishop Wilton Gregory a new cardinal, the first Black American in a red hat
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 25, 2020 8:01 AM CDT
Pope Francis Announces a Surprise First
This Sunday, June 2, 2019, file photo shows DC Archbishop Wilton Gregory posed for a portrait following mass at St. Augustine Church in Washington. Pope Francis has named 13 new cardinals, including Gregory, who would become the first Black US prelate to earn the coveted red cap.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Pope Francis on Sunday named 13 new cardinals, including Washington, DC, Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who would become the first Black US prelate to earn the coveted red hat. In a surprise announcement from his studio window, Francis said the churchmen would be elevated to a cardinal’s rank in a ceremony on Nov. 28. Other new cardinals include an Italian who is the long-time papal preacher at the Vatican, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, a Franciscan friar; the Kigali, Rwanda, Archbishop Antoine Kambanda; the Capiz, Philippines, Archbishop Jose Feurte Advincula, and the Santiago, Chile, Archbishop Celestino Aos. Another Franciscan who was tapped is Friar Mauro Gambetti, in charge of the Sacred Convent in Assisi. The pope, when elected in 2013, chose St. Francis of Assisi as his namesake saint, and earlier this month, the pontiff journeyed to that hill town in Umbria to sign an encyclical, or important church teaching document, about brotherhood.

In a reflection of the pope's stress on helping those in need, especially the poor, Francis also named the former director of the Rome Catholic charity, Caritas, the Rev. Enrico Feroci, to be a cardinal. Gregory was picked by Francis to lead the prestigious diocese in the US capital last year, reports the AP. He served three times as the head of the US Conference of Bishops. New cardinals under the age of 80 will join fellow cardinals eligible to elect the next pontiff in a secret conclave. No details were immediately given by the Vatican about the concistory, as the formal ceremony to make the churchmen cardinals is known, especially in view of travel restrictions involving many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(More Pope Francis stories.)

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