ROME, Oct 21 (Hina) - Pope John Paul II created 30 new cardinals on Tuesday, including Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, and kept one secret, or "in pectore", and would reveal his name at a convenient time.
ROME, Oct 21 (Hina) - Pope John Paul II created 30 new cardinals on
Tuesday, including Zagreb Archbishop Josip Bozanic, and kept one
secret, or "in pectore", and would reveal his name at a convenient
time. #L#
The new cardinals bring the number of members of the College of
Cardinals to 195, including 135 below the age of 80 who are eligible
to elect or be elected as the next pope at a conclave.
At 1135 hours, the pontiff placed a cardinal's cap on the head of
Josip Bozanic and assigned him the Church of St Jerome in Rome. All
cardinals are to be presented with a cardinal's ring at a ceremony
on Wednesday.
The ceremony in St Peter's Square started at 1030 hours with a
homily read for the pope by Msgr Sandri, after which all future
cardinals pledged allegiance to the Catholic Church, John Paul II
and future popes.
Noting that the church had expanded round the world, the pope called
on the cardinals to serve the church faithfully.
The 195 cardinals come from 69 countries from all the continents. As
of today four more countries will have their cardinals in the
College of Cardinals -- Croatia, Guatemala, Ghana and Somalia.
The ceremony was attended by numerous government delegations,
including a Croatian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Goran
Granic.
The installation of Bozanic as a cardinal will be celebrated in the
Zagreb Cathedral on October 24.
(hina) vm sb