In a solemn Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday (Dec. 7), Pope Francis welcomed 21 new cardinals supporting the pope’s diverse vision for the church.
“Today, in a particular way, I would like to say to you, dear brothers who are being made cardinals: make every effort to walk in the path of Jesus,” the pope told the prelates in his homily, urging them “to be builders of communion and unity.”
The new cardinals, representing the diversity of the global church, will join a College of Cardinals whose members already hail from 90 countries. Throughout his pontificate, Francis has been fixed on refashioning its hierarchical and often opaque structure into a more transparent and welcoming organization that is closer to the people, a program of reform known in Catholic circles as synodality.
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