Cardinal (Catholic Church)

Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister of France

There is general disagreement about the origin of the term, but a chief consensus that "cardinalis" is etymologically from the Latin word cardo (meaning "pivot" or "hinge") was first used in late antiquity to designate a bishop or priest who was incorporated into a church for which he had not originally been ordained. In Rome the first persons to be called cardinals were the deacons of the seven regions of the city at the beginning of the 6th century, when the word began to mean "principal", "eminent", or "superior". The name was also given to the senior priest in each of the "title" churches (the parish churches) of Rome and to the bishops of the seven sees surrounding the city. By the 8th century the Roman cardinals constituted a privileged class among the Roman clergy. They took part in the administration of the church of Rome and in the papal liturgy. By decree of a synod of 769, only a cardinal was eligible to become Bishop of Rome. Cardinals were granted the privilege of wearing the red hat by Pope Innocent IV in 1244.[3]

In cities other than Rome, the name cardinal began to be applied to certain church men as a mark of honour. The earliest example of this occurs in a letter sent by Pope Zacharias in 747 to Pippin III (the Short), ruler of the Franks, in which Zacharias applied the title to the priests of Paris to distinguish them from country clergy. This meaning of the word spread rapidly, and from the 9th century various episcopal cities had a special class among the clergy known as cardinals. The use of the title was reserved for the cardinals of Rome in 1567 by Pius V.

In 1059 (five years after the East-West Schism), the right of electing the Pope was reserved to the principal clergy of Rome and the bishops of the seven suburbicarian sees. In the 12th century the practice of appointing ecclesiastics from outside Rome as cardinals began, with each of them assigned a church in Rome as his titular church or linked with one of the suburbicarian dioceses, while still being incardinated in a diocese other than that of Rome.

The term cardinal at one time applied to any priest permanently assigned or incardinated to a church,[4] or specifically to the senior priest of an important church, based on the Latin cardo (hinge), meaning "pivotal" as in "principal" or "chief". The term was applied in this sense as early as the 9th century to the priests of the tituli (parishes) of the diocese of Rome.[4]

In the year 1563, the Ecumenical Council of Trent, headed by Pope Pius IV, wrote about the importance of selecting good cardinals: "nothing is more necessary to the Church of God than that the holy Roman pontiff apply that solicitude which by the duty of his office he owes the universal Church in a very special way by associating with himself as cardinals the most select persons only, and appoint to each church most eminently upright and competent shepherds; and this the more so, because our Lord Jesus Christ will require at his hands the blood of the sheep of Christ that perish through the evil government of shepherds who are negligent and forgetful of their office."[5]

The earlier influence of temporal rulers, notably the Kings of France, reasserted itself through the influence of cardinals of certain nationalities or politically significant movements. Traditions even developed entitling certain monarchs, including those of Austria, Spain, and France, to nominate one of their trusted clerical subjects to be created cardinal, a so-called "crown-cardinal".[6]

In early modern times, cardinals often had important roles in secular affairs. In some cases, they took on powerful positions in government. In Henry VIII's England, his chief minister was for some time Cardinal Wolsey. Cardinal Richelieu's power was so great that he was for many years effectively the ruler of France.[7] Richelieu's successor was also a cardinal, Jules Mazarin. Guillaume Dubois and André-Hercule de Fleury complete the list of the four great cardinals to have ruled France.[6] In Portugal, due to a succession crisis, one cardinal, Henry of Portugal, was crowned king, the only example of a cardinal-king.

While the incumbents of some sees are regularly made cardinals, and some countries are entitled to at least one cardinal by concordate (usually earning either its primate or the metropolitan of the capital city the cardinal's hat), almost no see carries an actual right to the cardinalate, not even if its bishop is a Patriarch: the notable exception is the Patriarch of Lisbon who, by Pope Clement XII's 1737 bull Inter praecipuas apostolici ministerii, is accorded the right to be elevated to the rank of cardinal in the consistory following their appointment.[8]

In 1059, Pope Nicholas II gave cardinals the right to elect the Bishop of Rome in the papal bull In nomine Domini. For a time this power was assigned exclusively to the cardinal bishops, but in 1179 the Third Lateran Council restored the right to the whole body of cardinals.[9]

In 1586, Pope Sixtus V limited the number of cardinals to 70:[10] six cardinal bishops, 50 cardinal priests, and 14 cardinal deacons. Pope John XXIII exceeded that limit citing the need to staff Church offices.[11] In November 1970 in Ingravescentem aetatem, Pope Paul VI established that electors would be under the age of eighty years. When it took effect on 1 January 1971, it deprived twenty-five cardinals of the right to participate in a conclave.[12] In October 1975 in Romano Pontifici eligendo, he set the maximum number of electors at 120, while establishing no limit on the overall size of the college.[13]

Popes can set aside church laws[14][15] and they have regularly brought the number of cardinals under the age of 80 to more than 120, twice reaching as high as 135 with Pope John Paul II's consistories of February 2001[16] and October 2003. No more than 120 electors have ever participated in a conclave, but most canon lawyers believe that if their number exceeded 120 they would all participate.[17][lower-alpha 2]

Pope Paul VI also increased the number of cardinal bishops by assigning that rank, in 1965, to patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches when named cardinals.[18][19] In 2018, Pope Francis expanded the cardinal bishops of Roman title, because this had not been done despite recent decades' expansion in the two lower orders of cardinals, besides having all six such cardinals being over the age limit for a conclave.

Cardinal Innitzer, Archbishop of Vienna and Cardinal-Priest of San Crisogono

Each cardinal is assigned a titular church upon his creation, which is always a church in the city of Rome. Through the process of opting (optazione), a cardinal can raise through the ranks from cardinal deacon to priest, and from cardinal priest to that of cardinal bishop - in which case he obtains one of the suburbicarian sees located around the city of Rome.[20] The only exception is for patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches.[21] Nevertheless, cardinals possess no power of governance nor are they to intervene in any way in matters which pertain to the administration of goods, discipline, or the service of their titular churches.[22] They are allowed to celebrate Mass and hear confessions and lead visits and pilgrimages to their titular churches, in coordination with the staff of the church. They often support their churches monetarily, and many cardinals do keep in contact with the pastoral staffs of their titular churches. The term cardinal is from the Latin word "cardo" meaning a hinge. Here it means a "door", an example of synecdoche, a figure of speech whereby the part refers to the whole. The "door" is the address of the titular church from which the cardinal derives his membership of the Roman clergy, who elect the Pope.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals in addition to such a titular church also receives the titular bishopric of Ostia, the primary suburbicarian see. Cardinals governing a particular church retain that church.[23]

In 1630, Pope Urban VIII decreed their title to be Eminence (previously, it had been "illustrissimo" and "reverendissimo")[lower-alpha 3] and decreed that their secular rank would equate to Prince, making them secondary only to the Pope and crowned monarchs.[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5]

In accordance with tradition, they sign by placing the title "Cardinal" (abbreviated Card.) after their personal name and before their surname as, for instance, "John Card(inal) Doe" or, in Latin, "Ioannes Card(inalis) Doe". Some writers, such as James-Charles Noonan,[24] hold that, in the case of cardinals, the form used for signatures should be used also when referring to them in English. However, official sources, such as the Catholic News Service,[25] say that the correct form for referring to a cardinal in English is normally as "Cardinal [First name] [Surname]". This is the rule given also in stylebooks not associated with the church.[26][27][28][29] This style is also generally followed on the websites of the Holy See and episcopal conferences.[30] Oriental patriarchs who are created cardinals customarily use "Sanctae Ecclesiae Cardinalis" as their full title,[31] probably because they do not belong to the Roman clergy.[21]

The [First name] Cardinal [Surname] order is used in the Latin proclamation of the election of a new pope by the cardinal protodeacon,[lower-alpha 6] if the new pope is a cardinal, as it has been since 1378.

In addition to the named cardinals, the Pope may name secret cardinals or cardinals in pectore (Latin for in the breast). During the Western Schism, many cardinals were created by the contending Popes. Beginning with the reign of Pope Martin V,[4] cardinals were created without publishing their names until later, a practice termed creati et reservati in pectore.[57] A cardinal named in pectore is known only to the pope. In the modern era, Popes have named cardinals in pectore to protect them or their congregations from political reprisals. If conditions change, the pope makes the appointment public. The cardinal in question then ranks in precedence with those made cardinals at the time of his in pectore appointment. If a Pope dies before revealing the identity of an in pectore cardinal, the person's status as cardinal expires. The last Pope known to have named a cardinal in pectore is Pope John Paul II, who named four, including one whose identity was never revealed.[lower-alpha 11]

• Pontifical vestments
• 
  Cardinal Sarr with a ferraiolo and wearing a red cassock, but not the rest of the choir dress.
• 
  Cardinals Walter Kasper (left) and Godfried Danneels (right) wearing their choir dress: scarlet (red) cassock, white rochet trimmed with lace, scarlet mozetta, scarlet biretta (over the usual scarlet zucchetto), and pectoral cross on cord.
• 
  Cardinal Bertone in dress for hot tropical countries (white cassock with scarlet piping and buttons).

When in choir dress, a Latin Church Cardinal wears scarlet garments—the blood-like red symbolizes a cardinal's willingness to die for his faith.[59][60] Excluding the rochet — which is always white — the scarlet garments include the cassock, mozzetta, and biretta (over the usual scarlet zucchetto). The biretta of a cardinal is distinctive not merely for its scarlet color, but also for the fact that it does not have a pompon or tassel on the top as do the birettas of other prelates. Until the 1460s, it was customary for cardinals to wear a violet or blue cape unless granted the privilege of wearing red when acting on papal business. His normal-wear cassock is black but has scarlet piping and a scarlet fascia (sash). Occasionally, a cardinal wears a scarlet ferraiolo which is a cape worn over the shoulders, tied at the neck in a bow by narrow strips of cloth in the front, without any 'trim' or piping on it.[61] It is because of the scarlet color of cardinals' vesture that the bird of the same name has become known as such.

A Cardinal in Profile, 1880, by Jehan Georges Vibert (Morgan Library and Museum, New York City)

Eastern Catholic cardinals continue to wear the normal dress appropriate to their liturgical tradition, though some may line their cassocks with scarlet and wear scarlet fascias, or in some cases, wear Eastern-style cassocks entirely of scarlet.[62]

In previous times, at the consistory at which the Pope named a new cardinal, he would bestow upon him a distinctive wide-brimmed hat called a galero. This custom was discontinued in 1969[61] and the investiture now takes place with the scarlet biretta. In ecclesiastical heraldry, however, the scarlet galero is still displayed on the cardinal's coat of arms. Cardinals had the right to display the galero in their cathedral, and when a cardinal died, it would be suspended from the ceiling above his tomb. Some cardinals will still have a galero made, even though it is not officially part of their apparel.

To symbolize their bond with the papacy, the Pope gives each newly appointed cardinal a gold ring,[63] which is traditionally kissed by Catholics when greeting a cardinal (as with a bishop's episcopal ring). Before the new uniformity imposed by John Paul II, each cardinal was given a ring, the central piece of which was a gem, usually a sapphire, with the Pope's stemma engraved on the inside.[64] There is now no gemstone, and the Pope chooses the image on the outside: under Pope Benedict XVI it was a modern depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus, with Mary and John to each side. The ring includes the Pope's coat of arms on the inside.[65]

Cardinals have in canon law a "privilege of forum" (i.e., exemption from being judged by ecclesiastical tribunals of ordinary rank): only the Pope is competent to judge them in matters subject to ecclesiastical jurisdiction (cases that refer to matters that are spiritual or linked with the spiritual, or with regard to infringement of ecclesiastical laws and whatever contains an element of sin, where culpability must be determined and the appropriate ecclesiastical penalty imposed). The Pope either decides the case himself or delegates the decision to a tribunal, usually one of the tribunals or congregations of the Roman Curia. Without such delegation, no ecclesiastical court, even the Roman Rota, is competent to judge a canon law case against a cardinal.[66]

Additionally, canon law gives cardinals the faculty of hearing confessions validly and licitly everywhere, whereas other priests and bishops must be granted this faculty and might be restricted in its use by the local bishop.[67]

• Cardinal-Infante (disambiguation)
• Cardinal-nephew
• Cardinal protector
• Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
• List of current cardinals
• List of the creations of the cardinals

• Kuttner, Steven (1945). "Cardinalis: The History of a Canonical Concept". Traditio. 3: 129–214. doi:10.1017/S0362152900016883. JSTOR 27830076. S2CID 149333519.
• Battandier, Albert (1913). "Ecclesiastical Addresses" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Noonan, Jr., James-Charles (1996). The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church. Viking. ISBN 0-670-86745-4.
• Sägmüller, Johannes Baptist (1913). "Cardinal" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Boudinhon, Auguste (1911). "Cardinal" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Hollingswirth, Mary, Miles Pattenden and Arnold Witte, eds (2020), A Companion to the Early Modern Cardinal. Leiden/Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-41544-7

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cardinals.

• Salvador Miranda. The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. A digital resource consisting of the biographical entries of the cardinals from 494 to 2014 and of the events and documents concerning the origin of the Roman cardinalate and its historical evolution
• Next Cardinal Creating Consistory by Pope Benedict XVI – The Required Background Data (including statistical data and links). Popes and the Papacy website (Anura Guruge). Retrieved 2010-09-08.
• GCatholic on all Cardinals
  • List of All Cardinals By Precedence by GCatholic
  • List of all Cardinal Titular Churches by GCatholic
  • List of all Cardinal Deaconries by GCatholic
• Catholic-pages List of Cardinals
• Thomas J. Reese, Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church, Harvard University Press, 1996
• Cardinal Rating a website listing the day to day statements printed in the news by current cardinals