Cardinals are senior members of theclergy of theCatholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of theDiocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to thepope, who is the bishop of Rome. They are typically ordainedbishops and generally hold important roles within the church, such as leading prominentarchdioceses or headingdicasteries within theRoman Curia. Cardinals are chosen by the pope and formally created in aconsistory, and one of their foremost duties is the election of a new pope – invariably from among their number, although not strictly a requirement – when theHoly See is vacant (sede vacante), following the death orresignation of a pope. Collectively, they constitute theCollege of Cardinals.^[1][2]

Under current ecclesiastical law, as defined by theapostolic constitutionUniversi Dominici gregis (1996), only cardinals who have not passed their 80th birthdays on the day on which the Holy See becomes vacant are eligible to take part in apapal conclave to elect a new pope.^[3] The same apostolic constitution specifies that no more than 120 cardinals may take part in a conclave, but makes no provision for there being more than 120 eligible cardinal electors,^[3] a number that has often been exceeded.^[4] Cardinals may be createdin pectore (lit. 'in the breast'), in which case the pope does not reveal their identities; they are not entitled to the privileges of a cardinal until their names are published by the pope. The creations of any such cardinals whose names have not been revealed before the pope's death or resignation automatically lapse.[1]^[5]

As of 8 November 2025,^[update] there are 245 cardinals, 126 of whom are cardinal electors. Themost recent consistory for the creation of cardinals was held on 7 December 2024, whenPope Francis created 21 cardinals, including 20 cardinal electors.^[6]Vincent Nichols was the most recent cardinal elector to turn 80, on 8 November 2025.Jean-Pierre Kutwa will be the next cardinal elector to turn 80, on 22 December 2025. The most recent death of a cardinal was that ofDominik Duka on 4 November 2025, at the age of 82.^[7]

The College of Cardinals is divided into three orders, withformal precedence in the following sequence:^[1]

1. Cardinal bishops (CB): six cardinals who are chosen by the pope to betitular bishops of the sevensuburbicarian dioceses in the vicinity ofRome, plus a few additional cardinals who have been exceptionally "co-opted" as cardinal bishops,^[8][9] as well aspatriarchs who lead one of theEastern Catholic Churches.^[a][11][12] The two most senior cardinal bishops, who are elected by the cardinal bishops (excluding the Eastern Catholic patriarchs) from among themselves with papal approval, are thedean and thevice dean,^[1] currentlyGiovanni Battista Re andLeonardo Sandri, respectively. Among the cardinal electors, the senior cardinal bishop is presentlyPietro Parolin.^[b]
2. Cardinal priests (CP): bishops and archbishops, typically in charge ofdioceses around the world, as well as former cardinal deacons who have opted to be elevated to become cardinal priests.^[13] The most senior cardinal priest is theprotopriest, currentlyMichael Michai Kitbunchu; among the cardinal electors, the senior cardinal priest is presentlyPeter Turkson.^[b]
3. Cardinal deacons (CD): bishops and archbishops who work in theRoman Curia or thediplomatic service of the Holy See, and all other clergy, includingpriests who have been granted adispensation from the normal requirement that a person must be consecrated a bishop before becoming a cardinal. A cardinal deacon may opt (Latin:optatio) to become a cardinal priest after having served as a cardinal deacon for ten years.^[1][14] The most senior cardinal deacon is theprotodeacon, currentlyDominique Mamberti; he is also the senior cardinal deacon among the cardinal electors. The junior cardinal deacon is presentlyGeorge Koovakad;^[b] he is also the junior cardinal deacon among the electors.

For cardinal bishops (excluding the Eastern Catholic patriarchs), the dean isfirst in precedence, followed by the vice dean and then, in order of appointment as cardinal bishops, by the remainder. For cardinal bishops who are Eastern Catholic patriarchs, for cardinal priests and for cardinal deacons, precedence is determined by the date of the consistory in which they were created cardinals and then by the order in which they appeared in the official announcement or bulletin.

All cardinals listed are members of theLatin Church unless otherwise stated. Cardinals belonging toinstitutes of consecrated life orsocieties of apostolic life are indicated by the relevantpost-nominal letters. Cardinals in pastoral ministry are classified under the country in which their respective dioceses are located, although they may be citizens of another country.

As of 8 November 2025,^[update] 126 of 245 cardinals are eligible to participate in a papal conclave. The current threshold number of votes needed to be elected pope with the required two-thirdssupermajority is 84, assuming that all 126 cardinal electors were to participate in a conclave (and notwithstanding the maximum of 120 electors specified inUniversi Dominici gregis).^[3][246]

This table indicates the number of current cardinals created by each pope and belonging to each order of the college.

While most cardinals belong to theLatin Church, which encompasses the vast majority of Catholics, a small number of cardinals belong to one of the twenty-three autonomous (sui iuris)Eastern Catholic Churches. At present, there are seven Eastern Catholic cardinals, including five cardinal electors, belonging to sixparticular churchessui iuris:

• Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (Maronite Church)
• Louis Raphaël I Sako (Chaldean Church), cardinal elector
• George Alencherry (Syro-Malabar Church)
• Baselios Cleemis (Syro-Malankara Church), cardinal elector
• Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel (Ethiopian Church), cardinal elector
• Mykola Bychok (Ukrainian Greek Church), cardinal elector
• George Koovakad (Syro-Malabar Church), cardinal elector

At present, there are 63 cardinals, including 32 cardinal electors, who are members of thereligious life, representing 27institutes of consecrated life andsocieties of apostolic life. In this table, the common name for the members of an institute or society, if different from its formal name, is given in brackets.

For the purposes of this article, countries are grouped into continents generally according to the regions of theUnited Nations geoscheme; for the region of the Americas, North America comprises the subregions of Northern America, Central America and the Caribbean, while South America comprises the remaining subregion of the same name.^[247] The statistics for the global distribution of Catholics in the table below are sourced from the 2023 edition^[update] of theAnnuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (Statistical Yearbook of the Church), published in 2025.^[248]

At present, 92 countries are represented in the College of Cardinals, including 68 with at least one cardinal elector. The countries with the greatest numbers of cardinals are Italy (50), the United States (16), and Spain (13). Among the cardinal electors, the countries with the greatest numbers are Italy (17), the United States (9), and Brazil (7).

• Cardinals created by John Paul II
• Cardinals created by Benedict XVI
• Cardinals created by Francis
• Cardinal electors in the 2025 conclave
• Council of Cardinals
• List of creations of cardinals
• Suburbicarian diocese
• Titular church (List of titular churches)