There are currently 139 cardinal electors, but in 2025, 14 of them will be 80 years old, which means they will lose the right to vote in the event of a conclave.
Among them are important figures of the College of Cardinals. For example, there is the Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
Pope Francis praised him publicly. The Pope said that he understood the Pope’s idea of pastoral care with divorced people, which is reflected in the document Amoris Laetitia. He said that the Cardinal avoided simplifying interpretations.
CARD. CHRISTOPH SCHÖNBORN
Archbishop of Vienna
For me, this document holds authentic novelties but not a rupture.
Another cardinal who will turn 80 is the president of the governorate, Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, who has had the delicate task of managing the tiny Vatican City State.
CARD. FERNANDO VÉRGEZ
As a State, our role is to give the Holy See the necessary means for the Holy See to be autonomous.
In June, Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea will also cease to be an elector. Despite some misunderstandings with Pope Francis, he has been one of the most important African cardinals in the Vatican and one of the greatest defenders of Africa.
CARD. ROBERT SARAH
God wants Africa to have an important role in the salvation of the world.
Pakistani Cardinal Joseph Coutts will also no longer be an elector. He is a cardinal from an important area for the Church, as he comes from a region where Christians have suffered harsh episodes of discrimination and persecution. The emblematic case was that of Asia Bibi, unjustly accused of blasphemy, who spent years in prison in inhumane conditions and now lives abroad.
CARD. JOSEPH COUTTS
The problem with the blasphemy law is that it can easily be misused and this is what is happening. If someone is accused of blasphemy or of disrespecting the Quran, it is very easy to get him or her in trouble. Religion is a very delicate issue for us, everyone becomes inflated when speaking about the subject.
In August, the newly created Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe will also turn 80. His period as an elector will be brief, but his appointment was a gesture from the Pope, who seems to have been convinced by his way of understanding synodality.
Another of the prominent cardinals who will no longer be an elector is the Englishman Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.
The country that will lose the most cardinal electors for reasons of age will be Spain. In 2025, of the 14 cardinals who will turn 80, three will be from Spain. In reality, there would be four, but Cardinal Celestino Aós was in Chile and the Vatican counts nationality in a different way: if an Italian cardinal is in Mongolia, for example, he will not be counted as Italian but will be from the Asian country.
JRB
TR: GS
