By custom, each cardinal is appointed to a rank within the college: cardinal bishop, cardinal priest, or cardinal deacon. Each cardinal receives a titular church according to the rank he possesses. Cardinal bishops are the most senior members of the college, hold the most important offices in the Roman Curia, or are Eastern patriarchs. With the exception of the patriarchs, cardinal bishops receive the title of one of the suburbicarian sees surrounding Rome.
The largest group of cardinals are those belonging to the second rank — cardinal priests. They are mostly bishops and archbishops who head dioceses and archdioceses all over the world (such as New York, Tokyo, or Madrid) or officials of long service in the Roman Curia who have chosen to be promoted from the ranks of cardinal deacons after 10 years.
Cardinal deacons are primarily officials of the Roman Curia and other priests and bishops who are honored for their service to the Church with elevation to the cardinalate.
If, however, a cardinal deacon moves from the ranks of the cardinal deacons to cardinal priests he will customarily receive a new title appropriate for a cardinal priest or possibly request that his deaconry be elevated to a title for the time he holds it. Should a cardinal priest be elevated to the rank of cardinal bishop, he will customarily receive a title to a suburbicarian see.
With the creation of the 21 new cardinals, Pope Francis assigned each a new title or deaconry. The list of new cardinals and their titular churches is as follows:
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Cardinal Angelo Acerbi, former nuncio: Ss. Angeli Custodi a Città Giardino (deaconry)
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Cardinal Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio of Lima, Peru: S. Maria delle Grazie a Casal Boccone (title)
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Cardinal Vicente Bokalic Iglic, CM, of Santiago del Estero, Argentina: S. Maria Maddalena in Campo Marzio (title)
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Cardinal Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM, of Guayaquil, Ecuador: Sacra Famiglia di Nazareth a Centocelle (title)
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Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib of Santiago, Chile: S. Mauro Abate (title)
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Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, of Tokyo: S. Giovanni Leonardi (title)
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Cardinal Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of Kalookan, Philippines: Trasfigurazione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo (title)
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Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, SVD, of Belgrade, Serbia: S. Maria Stella Maris (title)
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Cardinal Jaime Spengler, OFM, of Porto Alegre, Brazil: S. Gregorio Magno alla Magliana Nuova (title)
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Cardinal Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Abidjan, Ivory Coast: Ss. Mario e Compagni Martiri (title)
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Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, OP, of Algiers, Algeria: S. Cuore di Gesù agonizzante a Vitinia (title)
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Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv, of Tehran and Isfahan, Iran: S. Giovanna Antida Thouret (title)
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Cardinal Roberto Repole of Turin, Italy: Gesù Divino Maestro alla Pineta Sacchetti (title)
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Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar for the Diocese of Rome: S. Maria Assunta e S. Giuseppe a Primavalle (title)
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Cardinal Francis Leo of Toronto: S. Maria della Salute a Primavalle (title)
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Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major: S. Eustachio (deaconry)
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Cardinal Mykola Bychok, CSSR, Eparch of Sts. Peter and Paul of Melbourne of the Ukrainians (Ukrainian bishop in Australia) Australia: S. Sofia a Via Boccea (title)
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Cardinal Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, theologian: Ss. Nomi di Gesù e Maria in via Lata (deaconry)
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Cardinal Father Fabio Baggio, CS, undersecretary and head of the section for migrants and refugees at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development: S. Filippo Neri in Eurosia (deaconry)
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Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, organizer of papal trips: Diaconia S. Antonio di Padova a Circonvallazione Appia (deaconry)
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Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, archbishop of Naples: San Marco in Agro Laurentino (title)
Normally, new cardinals are appointed to titular churches that had fallen vacant either by the death or transfer of the previous holder. At the time of the consistory on Dec. 7, there were 12 vacant titles and nine vacant deaconries. Francis filled seven of the vacant titles and five of the vacant deaconries. The remaining nine were entirely new, constituted on the very day of the consistory by Pope Francis, marking the continuation of a trend of the last years.
It must be remembered, of course, that the pope does not have to assign cardinals to vacant presbyteral titles and deaconries; he is entirely free to institute new ones, and that is what he chose to do again for this consistory.
In the last consistory, for example, in 2023, the pope established seven new titles for cardinal priests: St. Bernadette Soubiros to Cardinal Angel Sixto Rossi, archbishop of Cordoba; Santi Cirillo e Metodio to Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, archbishop of Lodz; Santa Gemma Galgani to Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, archbishop of Juba; Santa Maria in Montesanto to Cardinal Protase Rugambwa, archbishop of Tabora; Santa Maria Causa Nostrae Letitiae to Cardinal Sebastan Francis, bishop of Penang; San Giovanni Battista de La Salle to Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, bishop of Hong Kong; and San Gaetano to Cardinal Diego Rafael Padron Sanchez, archbishop Emeritus of Cumaná.
At the same time, the Holy Father instituted two new deaconries: Santa Monica in Ostia and Sant’Ambrogio della Massima, assigning them to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, respectively.
