Italian new Cardinal Domenico Battaglia (R) receives his biretta as he is appointed cardinal by Pope Francis (L) during a consistory ceremony in the Saint Peter’s basilica at the Vatican on Saturday. Photo by Fabio Frustaci/EPA-EFE
Dec. 7 (UPI) — Pope Francis formally installed 21 new Roman Catholic cardinals to their posts Saturday at the Vatican, urging them to stay humble and to “walk the path of Jesus.”
Francis placed the distinctive red hats, or birettas, on the prelates’ heads while presiding at a Holy Mass for the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
During his homily, the pope reminded the new cardinals that Jesus took a “difficult uphill path” leading to his crucifixion during his time on Earth although his disciples had expected “a smooth downhill path for the triumphant Messiah.”
The same thing can happen to us, he warned them, saying, “To walk in the path of Jesus means above all to return to him and to put him back at the center of everything.
“Our hearts can go astray, allowing us to be dazzled by the allure of prestige, the seduction of power, by an overly human zeal for the Lord. That is why we need to look within, to stand before God in humility (…) and ask: Where is my heart going? Where is it directed? Have I perhaps taken the wrong road?”
Observers at the ceremony noticed there was a wide bruise on the 88-year-old pope’s chin and neck. The Vatican told reporters the injuries were sustained on Friday when the pontiff fell and hit his chin on his bedside table.
The new appointments boosted the membership of the College of Cardinals to 140 who are eligible to vote for a new pope in a future conclave. Some 110 of them have been appointed by Francis.
The consistory was held Saturday following the conclusion of the Second Session of the Synod on Synodality in the Vatican. It was Francis’ first consistory creating new Cardinals since Sept. 30, 2023. The cardinals-elect came from all over the world, including Peru, Argentina, Japan, the Philippines, Serbia, Algeria and Indonesia.
Perhaps the most notable among them are Archbishop Frank Leo of Canada and Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Iran, who are seen as embodying Francis’ push to strengthen the Catholic Church’s global mission.
“Their origins,” Francis said on Oct. 6, “express the universality of the Church, which continues to proclaim God’s merciful love to all people on Earth. Their inclusion in the Diocese of Rome also manifests the inseparable bond between the See of Peter and the particular Churches spread throughout the world.”
In a letter sent to group in October, the Pontiff urged them to “make every effort as a Cardinal to embody the three attitudes with which an Argentinian poet (Francisco Luis Bernárdez) once characterized Saint John of the Cross, and which are also applicable to us: ‘eyes raised, hands joined, feet bare.'”