Vatican City: Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals at a ritual-filled ceremony on Saturday, including key figures at the Vatican and in the field who will help enact his reforms and cement his legacy.
On a crisp sunny morning filled with cheers from St Peter’s Square, Francis further expanded his influence on the College of Cardinals who will help him govern and one day elect his successor: with Saturday’s additions, nearly three-quarters of the voting-age “princes of the church” owe their red hats to the Argentine Jesuit.
At the start of the service, Francis said their variety and geographic diversity would serve the church like musicians in an orchestra, where sometimes they play solos, sometimes as an ensemble.