Pope Francis Raises Cardinal Tagle to New Rank of Cardinal Bishop

Members of the College of Cardinals are divided into three orders: cardinal deacons, cardinal priests and cardinal bishops. Cardinal bishops are the highest-ranking. 

Traditionally, six cardinal bishops from the Latin Church are appointed as titular bishops of Rome’s ancient suburbicarian sees. Eastern Catholic patriarchs who are cardinals are also cardinal bishops.

The pope named Stella the titular cardinal bishop of the Suburbicarian Church of Porto-Santa Rufina, a title previously held by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who died September 4, 2019.

Tagle was not assigned a suburbicarian see. Instead, Pope Francis issued a rescript giving the Filipino cardinal the same status as other cardinal bishops.

In June 2018, the pope expanded the number of cardinal bishops beyond six, appointing a new group of cardinal bishops without assigning them suburbicarian sees.

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They were Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect for the Congregation of Bishops; and Cardinal Filoni, then prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People.

Following Tagle and Stella’s appointments, there are now 14 cardinal bishops.

The pope also named Brazilian Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, as Vice Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church May 1. 

The Vice Camerlengo helps the Camerlengo -- currently Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life -- in his duties, which include formally certifying the death of a reigning pope and administering the Holy See’s temporal goods before the election of a new pope.