Adedokun Waliyu 
Pope Francis has announced the selection of 21 new cardinals.
The pope unveiled the cardinals during his customary weekly appearance at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on Sunday.
He said the installation ceremony of the cardinals will be held on September 30, 2023.
Among the new cardinals is 59-year-old Victor Manuel Fernández, archbishop from La Plata, Argentina, whom the pope recently appointed to lead the enforcement of doctrinal orthodoxy and oversee the processing of allegations of sexual abuse against clergy worldwide.
Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, South Sudan and Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, South Africa are the two Africans on the list.
Stephen Sau-yan Chow, a Hong Kong Bishop and the Vatican’s top official in the Middle East, and Monsignor Pierbattista Pizzaballa of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem were also appointed.
The pope said the appointment of cardinals from across the globe “expresses the universality of the Church that continues to announce the merciful love of God to all men of the earth”.
The cardinals, who will serve as advisers to the pontiff on matters of teaching and administration, will also be critical in choosing a successor for the current pope upon resignation or death.
Here are the new cardinals:
Bishop Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops
Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches
Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Archbishop Emil Tscherrig, Apostolic Nuncio to Italy
Archbishop Christoph Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town, South Africa
Archbishop Ángel Sixto Rossi S.J. of Córdoba, Argentina
Archbishop Luis Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia
Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś of Łódź, Poland
Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, South Sudan
Archbishop Jose Cobo Cano of Madrid, Spain
Coadjutor Archbishop Protase Rugambwa of Tabora, Tanzania
Bishop Sebastian Francs of Penang, Malaysia
Bishop Stephen Chow of Hong Kong
Bishop François-Xavier Bustillo of Ajaccio, France
Auxiliary Bishop Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar of Lisbon, Portugal
Father Ángel Fernandez Artime, Major Rector of the Salesians
Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, apostolic nuncio emeritus
Archbishop Diego Padron Sanchez, archbishop emeritus of Cumaná, Italy
Father Luis Pascual, confessor in the shrine of Our Lady Pompei in Buenos Aires
In May 2022, it was reported that the pope announced 21 cardinals including Peter Okpaleke, a Nigerian Catholic bishop of Ekwulobia, Anambra state.
