Pope Francis Names 20 More New Cardinals In New Year Surprise

Breaking with tradition and at the same time bending Vatican rules, Pope Francis on Sunday named 20 new cardinals coming from various far-flung corners of the world. It was the second time he made such major appointments in his less than two years at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church.

Last year, the Pope named 19 new cardinals -- the "princes" of the Church who, if they are less than 80 years old, have the power to elect his successor after his death or resignation.

Speaking to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis said the 20 new members of the College of Cardinals he selected came from 14 countries from every continent in the world. He said he deliberately made these choices to show the Vatican's "inseparable link" with Catholic Churches around the world.

The new cardinals will be formally installed on Feb. 14 during a consistory.

Among the 20 new cardinals, 15 are "cardinal electors" or those below 80 years old. They come from Italy, France, Portugal, Ethiopia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Mexico, Myanmar, Thailand, Uruguay, Spain, Panama, Cape Verde and Tonga. Nine of them come from developing countries.

For the first time in history, a pope named cardinals from Myanmar, Tonga and Cape Verde.

The other five new cardinals are already over 80 years and are barred from entering a conclave of cardinal electors upon the death or resignation of the Pope. They were given the title to thank them for long years of service to the Church, according to the Vatican.

Only one of the 15 cardinal electors came from the Curia, the Vatican's central administration whom Pope Francis sharply criticized on Christmas Eve for having members with "spiritual Alzheimer's" and who engage in "the terrorism of gossip."

Following the Pope's announcement of the new cardinals, Vatican Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Holy Father "does not feel chained to the tradition" that major cities around the world should automatically have cardinals to lead them.

Moreover, the 78-year-old leader of world's 1.2 billion Catholics bent a Church rule that limits the number of cardinal electors to 120. With his new appointments on Sunday, the number of cardinal electors has swelled to 125.

During his speech in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made another surprise announcement. He said on Feb. 12-13, he will lead a meeting of all cardinals to "reflect on the orientations and proposals for the reform of the Roman Curia."

The Pope has long been calling for the overhaul of the Holy See to bring the Church closer to the people and to root out corruption, inefficiency and other problems in the Curia.

The 15 cardinal electors the Pope named on Sunday are: Archbishop Dominique Mamberti (France); Archbishop Manuel Jose Macario do Nascimento Clemente (Portugal); Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel (Ethiopia); Archbishop John Atcherley Dew (New Zealand); Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli (Italy);

Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon (Vietnam); Archbishop Alberto Suarez Inda (Mexico); Archbishop Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar); Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij (Thailand); Archbishop Francesco Montenegro (Italy);

Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet (Uruguay); Archbishop Ricardo Blazquez Perez (Spain); Bishop Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan (Panama); Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, (Capo Verde); and Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafia (Tonga).

The five cardinal emeritus, or those without voting rights, named by the Pope are: Archbishop emeritus Jose de Jesus Pimiento Rodríguez (Colombia); Titular Archbishop Luigi De Magistris (Italy); Titular Archbishop Karl-Joseph Rauber (Germany); Archbishop emeritus Luis Hector Villalba (Argentina); and Bishop emeritus Julio Duarte Langa (Mozambique).