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Pope Francis elevates 13 new Catholic cardinals – including first African-American
- The ceremony was marked by the coronavirus pandemic with two of the cardinals staying at home while the rest eschewed the usual celebrations
- The cardinal candidates were required to undergo 10 days of Vatican-mandated quarantine at the pope’s hotel
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Pope Francis raised 13 new cardinals, including the first African-American, to the highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy on Saturday and immediately warned them not to use their titles for corrupt, personal gain, presiding over a ceremony marked from beginning to end by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Two new “princes” of the church, from Brunei and the Philippines, did not make it to Rome because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, though they were shown on giant screens watching it from home in the nearly empty St. Peter’s Basilica. Throughout the socially distanced ceremony, which clocked in at an unusually quick 45 minutes, cardinals new and old wore face masks.
Most removed them when they approached a maskless Francis to receive their red hats, but Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the first African-American cardinal, kept his on. Gregory also was one of the only new cardinals who kept his mask on when the group paid a singing courtesy visit to retired Pope Benedict XVI.
During his homily, Francis warned the new cardinals against falling into corruption or using their new rank for personal advancement, saying that just because they have a new title, “Eminence,” does not mean they should drift from their people.
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His comments reflected Francis’ constant complaint about the arrogance of the clerical class, as well as his current battles to fight corruption in the Vatican hierarchy.
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