College of Cardinals Collegium Cardinalium | |
|---|---|
| Catholic Church | |
 | |
| Leadership | |
Giovanni Battista Re since 18 January 2020 | |
Vice-Dean | Leonardo Sandri since 18 January 2020 |
Protopriest | Michael Michai Kitbunchu since 14 December 2016 |
Protodeacon | Dominique Mamberti since 28 October 2024 |
| Seats | 245 (127 eligible to vote)
|
| Elections | |
| Appointment for life by thepope | |
| Rules | |
| Cardinals below the age of 80 may vote in theconclave to elect a pope | |
 |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Catholic Church |
|---|
 St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City |
| Overview |
Miscellaneous |
Links and resources |
 Catholic Church portal |
TheCollege of Cardinals (Latin:Collegium Cardinalium), also called theSacred College of Cardinals, is the body of allcardinals of theCatholic Church.[1] As of 8 November 2025,[update]there are 245 cardinals, of whom 126 are eligible to vote in aconclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by thepope, cardinalsserve for life, but become ineligible to participate in apapal conclave if they turn 80 before apapal vacancy occurs.
Since the emergence of the College of Cardinals in theEarly Middle Ages, the size of the body has historically been limited by popes,ecumenical councils ratified by the pope, and the college itself. The total number of cardinals from 1099 to 1986 has been about 2,900, nearly half of whom were created after 1655.[2] This number excludes possible undocumented 12th-century cardinals andpseudocardinals appointed during theWestern Schism by pontiffs now considered to beantipopes, and subject to some other sources of uncertainty.[2]
The wordcardinal is derived from the Latincardō, meaning "hinge". The office of cardinal as it is known today slowly evolved during the first millennium from the clergy of Rome. "The first time that the termcardinal appears in theLiber Pontificalis is in the biography ofPope Stephen III when in the Roman Synod of 769, it was decided that the Roman pontiff should be elected from among the deacons and cardinal priests."[3]
During the pontificate ofPope Stephen V (816–817), the three classes of the college that are present today began to form. Stephen V decreed that all cardinal bishops were bound to sing Mass on rotation at the high altar atSt. Peter's Basilica, one per Sunday. The first class to form were the cardinal deacons, direct theological descendants of the original seven ordained inActs 6, followed by the cardinal priests, and then the cardinal bishops.[4]
In 845, theCouncil of Meaux–Paris "required bishops to establish cardinal titles or parishes in their towns and outlining districts".[5] At the same time, the popes began referring to the cardinal priests of Rome to serve as legates and delegates within Rome at ceremonies, synods, councils, etc., as well as abroad on diplomatic missions and councils. Those who were assigned to the latter roles were given the titles ofLegatus a Latere (Cardinal Legate) andMissus Specialis (Special Missions).[4]
The college played an integral part in various reforms within the Church as well, as early as the pontificate ofPope Leo IX (1050). In the 12th century, theThird Council of the Lateran declared that only cardinals could assume the papacy, a requirement that has since lapsed.[4]
From the 13th to 15th centuries, the size of the College of Cardinals never exceeded thirty, although there were more than thirty parishes and diaconal districts which could potentially have a titular holder.Pope John XXII (1316–1334) formalized this norm by limiting the college to twenty members.[6] In the ensuing century, increasing the size of the college became a method for the pope to raise funds for construction or war, cultivate European alliances, and dilute the strength of the college as a spiritual and political counterweight to papal supremacy.[6]
Theconclave capitulation of the1352 papal conclave limited the size of the college to 20, and decreed that no new cardinals could be created until the size of the college had dropped to 16. In 1353,Pope Innocent VI declared the capitulation invalid.[7]
By the end of the 14th century, the practice of having solely Italian cardinals had ceased. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, there was much struggle for the college between the cardinals and the reigning popes. Although some popes increased the number of cardinals in order to guarantee allies,Pope Benedict XII often refused to do so, and created six new cardinals on only one occasion, in 1338.[8]
TheCouncil of Basel (1431–1437), later transferred to Ferrara and then Florence, limited the size of the college to 24,[9] as did the capitulation of the1464 papal conclave.[10][11] The capitulations of the 1484 (Pope Innocent VIII)[12] and 1513 (Pope Leo X) conclaves contained the same restriction.[13] The capitulation of the1492 papal conclave also contained a restriction on the creation of new cardinals.[14]
TheFifth Council of the Lateran (1512–1517), despite its detailed regulation of the lives of cardinals, did not consider the size of the college.[9]
In 1517,Pope Leo X added another 31 cardinals, bringing the total to 65, so that he could have a supportive majority in the College of Cardinals.Pope Paul IV brought the total to 70. His immediate successor,Pope Pius IV (1559–1565), raised the limit to 76.[6]
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor sought a limit of 26 and complained about the size and quality of the college to his legates to theCouncil of Trent, and some French attendees advocated a limit of 24, but the council did not prescribe a limit to the size of the college.[9] By the papacy ofPope Sixtus V (1585–1590), the number was set at 70 in 1586, divided among 14 cardinal deacons, 50 cardinal priests, and six cardinal bishops.[4]
Popes respected that limit untilPope John XXIII increased the number of cardinals several times to 88 in January 1961.[15]Pope Paul VI continued this expansion, reaching 134 athis third consistory in April 1969.[16]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the College of Cardinalsinternationalized.[17]
The total size of the college lost its significance when Paul VI decided to allow only cardinals under the age of 80 to vote in aconclave from 1971 onward.[18][19][a] In 1975, Paul VI set the maximum number of those under 80, the cardinal electors, at 120.[22] His next consistory in 1976 brought the number of cardinal electors to its full complement of 120.[23]
All of Paul VI's successors have at times exceeded the 120 maximum, except forPope John Paul I, who did not hold any consistories during his very short pontificate.Pope John Paul II reiterated the 120 maximum in 1996,[24] yet his appointments to the college resulted in more than 120 cardinal electors in four ofhis nine consistories, reaching a high of 135 in February 2001[25] and again in October 2003.[26][b]
Three ofPope Benedict XVI'sfive consistories resulted in more than 120 cardinal electors, the high being 125 in 2012.[28]Pope Francis exceeded the limit inall 10 of his consistories, reaching as high as 140 in December 2024.[29]
Other changes to the college in the 20th century affected specific orders. The1917 Code of Canon Law decreed that, from then on, only those who were priests or bishops could be chosen as cardinals,[30] thus officially closing the historical period in which some cardinals could be clergy who had only received firsttonsure andminor order, or themajor orders ofdeacon andsubdeacon, without a further ordination to the priesthood.[31]
In 1961, Pope John XXIII reserved to the pope the right to assign any member of the college to one of the suburbicarian sees and the rank of cardinal bishop. Previously only the senior cardinal priest and the senior cardinal deacon had the privilege of requesting such an appointment (jus optionis) when a vacancy occurred.[32] In 1962, he established that all cardinals should be bishops, ending the identification of the order of cardinal deacon with cardinals who were not bishops.[33] He consecrated the twelve non-bishop members of the college himself.[34][c]
In February 1965, Pope Paul VI decided that anEastern Rite Patriarch who is created a cardinal would no longer be assigned a titular church in Rome, but maintain his see and join the order of cardinal bishops, the rank previously reserved to the six cardinals assigned to thesuburbicarian dioceses.[37][38][d] He also required that the suburbicarian bishops elect one of themselves as thedean and vice-dean of the college, instead of allowing them to select any member of the college.[39][e] In June 2018,Pope Francis eased the rules governing the rank of cardinal bishop to open that rank to anyone of the pope's choosing, granting such cardinals the same privileges as those assigned suburbicarian sees.[40]
Pope Francis adjusted the rules regarding the dean in December 2019, so he now serves for a term of five years, which can be renewed by the pope. No change was made regarding the vice-dean.[41]
The resignation or removal of members has been a relatively rare phenomenon. Between 1791 and 2018, only one was removed from the college—Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne in 1791— and five resigned: Tommaso Antici in 1798, Marino Carafa di Belvedere in 1807,Carlo Odescalchi in 1838,Louis Billot in 1927, andTheodore Edgar McCarrick in 2018.[42][43]
For theMiddle Ages, sources concerning the size of the College of Cardinals are most frequently those relating topapal elections and conclaves.[44]
 |
| Year | Size of the college |
|---|---|
| 1099 | 18 |
| 1118 | 46 |
| 1119 | 46 or 47 |
| 1124 | 44 |
| 1130 | 44 |
| 1145 | 44 |
| 1198 | 26 |
| 1216 | 26 |
| 1227 | 18 |
| 1241 | 12 or 13 |
| 1244 | 6 |
| 1261 | 8 |
| 1264 | 21 |
| 1276 | 10 |
| 1277 | 7 |
| 1288 | 10 |
| 1294 (July) | 11 |
| 1294 (December) | 21 |
| 1303 | 18 |
| 1304 | 19 |
| 1312 | 16 |
| 1316 | 30 |
| 1327 | 16 |
| 1338 | 16 |
| 1348 | 16 |
| 1361 | 17 |
| 1371 | 30 |
| 1374 | 18 |
| Source: Broderick, 1987, pp. 13–14. | |
| May 2025 | 20.32 |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 20.24 |
| 2013 | 22.60 |
| 2005 | 17.09 |
| October 1978 | 22.50 |
| August 1978 | 22.80 |
| 1963 | 35.36 |
| 1958 | 35.80 |
| 1939 | 54.80 |
| 1922 | 51.60 |
| 1914 | 50.76 |
| 1903 | 56.25 |
| 1878 | 65.57 |
| 1846 | 98.00 |
| 1830–1831 | 80.00 |
| 1829 | 82.00 |
| 1823 | 87.76 |
| 1799–1800 | 85.71 |
A function of the college is to advise thepope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinaryconsistory,[45] a term derived from theRoman Emperor's crown council. It attends various functions as a matter of protocol, for example, during thecanonization process.
It convenes on the death or resignation of a pope as apapal conclave to elect a successor.[46] It is then restricted to eligible cardinals under the age limit of 80, which was set for the first time in 1970 byPope Paul VI.[47]
The college has no ruling power, except during thesede vacante (papal vacancy) period. Even then, its powers are extremely limited by the terms of the current law, which is laid down in theapostolic constitutionUniversi Dominici gregis (1996) and theFundamental Law of Vatican City State.
Historically, cardinals were the clergy serving parishes of the city of Rome under itsbishop, the pope. The college acquired particular importance following the crowning ofHenry IV asKing of Germany andHoly Roman Emperor at the age of six, after the unexpected death ofHenry III in 1056. Until then, theHoly See was often bitterly fought for among Rome's aristocratic families. External secular authorities had significant influence over who was to be appointed pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor in particular had the special power to appoint him.[48]
This was significant as the aims and views of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Church did not always coincide. Churchmen involved in what has become known as theGregorian Reform took advantage of the new king's lack of power and in 1059 reserved the election of the pope to the clergy of the Church in Rome. This was part of a larger power struggle, which became known as theInvestiture Controversy, as the Church and the Emperor each attempted to gain more control over the appointment of bishops, and in doing so wield more influence in the lands and governments they were appointed to.[49]
Reserving the election of a new pope as an exclusive matter of the cardinals represented a significant shift in the balance of power in the Early Medieval world. From the beginning of the 12th century, the College of Cardinals started to meet as such, when the cardinal bishops, cardinal priests and cardinal deacons ceased acting as separate groups.[50]
In the Catholic church, thedean of the College of Cardinals and thecardinal vice-dean are the president and vice-president of the college. Both are elected by and from thecardinal bishops (cardinals of the highest order, including those holdingsuburbicarian dioceses), but the election requires papal confirmation. Except for presiding and delegating administrative tasks, they have no authority over the cardinals, acting asprimus inter pares (first among equals).
Thesecretary of Roman Curia, thecamerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, thevicar general of Rome, and the patriarchs ofVenice andLisbon, are usually cardinals, with few, usually temporary, exceptions. TheFundamental Law of Vatican City State requires that appointees to the state'slegislative body, thePontifical Commission for Vatican City State, be cardinals.[51]
Under the terms ofPope Paul VI's 1970motu proprioIngravescentem aetatem, cardinals who reached the age of 80 before a conclave opened had no vote in papal elections.Pope John Paul II'sUniversi Dominici gregis of February 1996 modified that rule slightly, so that cardinals who have reached the age of 80 before the day thesee becomes vacant are not eligible to vote. This modification was put in place to prevent the date of the conclave being purposely scheduled or manipulated to include or exclude certain cardinals based on their age.[46]
Canon law sets the general qualifications for a man to be appointed bishop quite broadly, requiring someone of faith and good reputation, at least thirty-five years old and with a certain level of education and five years' experience as a priest.[52] The cardinals have nevertheless consistently elected the Bishop of Rome from among their own membership since the death ofPope Urban VI in 1389, the last non-cardinal to become pope. The conclave rules specify the procedures to be followed should they elect someone residing outside Vatican City or not yet a bishop.[53]
Of the 117 cardinals under the age of 80 at the time ofPope Benedict XVI's resignation, 115 participated in theconclave of March 2013 that electedPope Francis to succeed him. The two who did not participate wereJulius Riyadi Darmaatmadja (for health reasons) andKeith O'Brien (following allegations of sexual misconduct).[54]
In fact, John Paul II derogated from Paul's legislation several times and after consistories in 2001 and 2003, for example, there were as many as 135 electors.
From today therefore, perhaps for the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, all Cardinals are Bishops.
Deans of theCollege of Cardinals | |
|---|---|
| 18th century |
|
| 19th century |
|
| 20th century |
|
| 21st century | |
| Jurisdiction |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | |||||
| Major basilicas | |||||
| Titles (Papal names) | |||||
| Symbols | |||||
| Proclamations | |||||
| Activities | |||||
| Vestments | |||||
| Transportation | |||||
| Household | |||||
| Staff | |||||
| Related | |||||
| History Timeline Ecclesiastical Legal |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theology Bible Tradition Catechism |
| ||||||||||||
| Philosophy | |||||||||||||
| Saints | |||||||||||||
| Organisation Hierarchy Canon law Laity Precedence By country |
| ||||||||||||
| Culture | |||||||||||||
| Media | |||||||||||||
| Religious orders, institutes,societies |
| ||||||||||||
| Associations of the faithful | |||||||||||||
| Charities | |||||||||||||
| People | |
|---|---|
| Documents and events | |
| Concepts | |
| See also | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
