Pope Francis named 21 recent cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the dimensions of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will someday elect his successor.
Among those named by history’s first Latin American pope were the heads of several major dioceses and archdioceses within the South America. They include the heads of the Catholic Church in Santiago del Estero, Argentina; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Lima, Peru.
The recent cardinals will get their red hats at a ceremony, often called a consistory, on Dec. 8, a crucial feast day by itself that officially kicks off the Christmas season in Rome.
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