Archbishops of Abidjan and Alger among the 21 new Cardinals announced by Pope Francis

Most Rev. Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Archbishop of Abidjan (left) and Most Rev. Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Alger

The Holy Father announced a consistory for the creation of 21 new Cardinals from around the world to be held in the Vatican on 8 December 2024. This announcement was made on 06 October 2024, after his Sunday Angelus.

Among these new elected Cardinals, two are from Africa: Most Reverend Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Archbishop of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Most Reverend Jean-Paul Vesco, O.P., Archbishop of Alger (Algeria).

On Monday, October 7, the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, sent a congratulation message to the new cardinals from Africa, on behalf of the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops members of SECAM. “I offer you my sincere congratulations on the elevation of each of you to the dignity of Cardinal and wish you a fruitful ministry and full success in your mission to serve the Universal Church and the people of Africa”, wrote Cardinal Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa.

He, then, expressed his “deep gratitude to the Holy Father for his solicitude towards the Catholic Church on the African Continent” and prayed that the Lord may send them his Spirit, making them “tireless witnesses of the Risen Christ and bearers of messages of hope, peace and brotherhood in our Continent which is faced with the horrors of war and poverty”.

With the upcoming Consistory, according to today’s data, the College of Cardinals will enlarge to 256 Cardinals, 141 of whom will be Cardinal electors.

List of the Future Cardinals

Here is a list of the future Cardinals:

H.E. Msgr. Angelo Acerbi, Apostolic Nuncio
H.E. Mgr. Carlos Gustavo CASTILLO MATTASOGLIO Archbishop of Lima (Peru)
H.E. Msgr. Vicente BOKALIC IGLIC C.M., Archbishop of Santiago del Estero (Primate of Argentina).
H.E. Msgr. Luis Gerardo CABRERA HERRERA, O.F.M., Archbishop of Guayaquil (Ecuador).
H.E. Msgr. Fernando Natalio CHOMALÍ GARIB Archbishop of Santiago de Chile (Chile).
Archbishop Tarcisio Isao KIKUCHI, S.V.D., Archbishop of Tokyo (Japan).
H.E. Msgr. Pablo Virgilio SIONGCO DAVID, Bishop of Kalookan (Philippines).
H. E. Msgr. Ladislav NEMET, S.V.D., Archbishop of Beograd -Smederevo, (Serbia).
H.E. Msgr. Jaime SPENGLER, O.F.M., Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brasil).
H.E. Mgr Ignace BESSI DOGBO, Archbishop of Abidjan (Ivory Coast).
H.E. Mgr Jean-Paul VESCO, O.P., Archbishop of Alger (Algeria).
H.E. Mgr. Paskalis Bruno SYUKUR, O.F.M., Bishop of Bogor (Indonesia).
H. E. Msgr. Dominique Joseph MATHIEU, O.F.M. Conv., Archbishop of Tehran Ispahan (Iran).
H.E. Msgr. Roberto REPOLE, Archbishop of Turin (Italy).
H.E. Msgr. Baldassare REINA, Auxiliary Bishop of Rome, formerly Vice-gerent and, as of today, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome.
H.E. Msgr. Francis LEO, Archbishop of Toronto (Canada).
H.E. Msgr. Rolandas MAKRICKAS, Archpriest Coadjutor Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major.
H.E. Mgr Mykola BYCHOK, C.S.R., Bishop of the Eparchy Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne of the Ukrainians
R.P. Timothy Peter Joseph RADCLIFFE, OP, theologian
R. P. Fabio BAGGIO, C.S., Under Secretary of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development
Mgr George Jacob KOOVAKAD, Official of the Secretary of State, Responsible for Travel

The twenty-one new elected ones announced on October 6, will be created Cardinals during a Consistory in the Vatican, on December 8, 2024, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, by Pope Francis, few days following the ongoing Synod on synodality in Rome Italy.

Charles Ayetan

Download the Congratulatory Message from the President of SECAM t the new African Cardinals here:

NEW CARDINALS – CONGRAT MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT – ENG