The Cardinals who will elect 2013

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The USCCB published a handy yearbook “presentation of all 117 cardinals eligible to vote for a new pope in the upcoming conclave. The electors are presented in alphabetical order by last name. Their age as of Feb. 28 and country of origin are also given. Also noted are those who are current members of the Roman Curia. The file contains three pages. (CNS graphic/Paul Haring and Nancy Phelan Wiechec)”


One hears that the Indonesian cardinal, Jesuit Julius Darmaatmadja, 78, the archbishop emeritus of Jakarta, will not be attending due to health issues. He’s been dealing with eye problems for years and likely has other serious health concerns. There’s a lot of people talking –though it doesn’t mean too much now– about Cardinal Roger Mahoney’s presence at the conclave. For some, it is hoped that his conscience will tell him not to go to Rome. We’ll see.

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OUR sede vacante … the key players… in the papal election

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Benedict’s resignation as the Bishop of Rome goes into effect on 28 February 2013 at 8:00pm (Rome time; 2pm EST). Thereafter and until the election of a new Supreme Pontiff, Mother Church is in a period called sede vacante. This, however, does not mean nothing happens in the Church and that no one is in-charge.

The following are some of the key persons leading Holy Church.

  • The Apostolic Penitentiary Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro, 74, does not cease working like many of the other offices of the Holy See and Vatican because the work of the Penitentiary pertains to the forgiveness of sins and matters of questions of conscience from the faithful. Sins and justice need to be forgiven. De Castro and his coworkers will remain in office.
  • The Chamberlain (the Camerlengo), Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, SDB, 78, who is the current Secretary of State, will see to the management of the temporal goods of the Church. Bills need to be made and leadership provided. He functions in this capacity during the sede vacante. Moreover, he will also head the Congregational meetings, that is, the daily meetings of the College of Cardinals discussing the needs of the Church. The cardinals will hear a “state of the Church.”  During the conclave, Bertone will announce the result of every ballot, ascertaining the votes required for election. Cardinal Bertone will show the new pope to the papal apartments and hand him the keys. The Chamberlain will be assisted by Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca , 57, from Catania, who functions as a legal consultant.
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The Cardinal electors for 2013

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The list of cardinal-electors as of today is 118. 


According to the Law of the Church, at the time that the Chair of Peter becomes vacant, those cardinals who achieve 80 years may not vote in the conclave. Pope Benedict said today that the Church is sede vacante at 8pm (Rome time) on 28 February. Therefore, Lubomyr Cardinal Husar born on 26 February 1933 becomes unable to vote in the 2013 conclave.

But observers will note that there are three cardinals who will be 80 around the time of the next conclave, a date still to be announced by Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Cardinal Secretary of State and the Carmerlengo.

They are:

Walter Cardinal Kasper: 5 March 1933

Severino Cardinal Poletto: 18 March 1933

Juan Cardinal Sandoval: 28 March 1933


In 2005, there were 117 cardinals (but only 115 participated in the papal election).


The oldest cardinal walking into the conclave will be Godfried Cardinal Daneels (4 June 1933), the emeritus archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel, Belgium.


The youngest cardinal will be Baselios Cleemis Cardinal Thottunkal (15 June 1959), Major Archbishop of Trivandrum, India.


The Americans in the Conclave:


Roger Cardinal Mahoney, 77

Francis Cardinal George, 76

Justin Cardinal Rigali, 77

William Cardinal Levada, 76

Sean Cardinal O’Malley, 68

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, 63

Raymond Cardinal Burke, 64

Donald Cardinal Wuerl, 72

Timothy Cardinal Dolan, 63

Edwin Cardinal O’Brien, 73

James Cardinal Harvey, 63