VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
Consistory, Benedict XVI imposes the red hat on the new cardinals that will be entering the world’s most exclusive “club”: the cardinal electors who vote for the Pope
Andrea Tornielli
Vatican City
Saturday, February 18th, Benedict XVI will impose the red hat on 22 new “princes of the Church”, ready to defend the faith and the Pope “usque ad sanguinis effusionem”, which means: “unto the shedding of our blood”, symbolized by the red colour of their cassocks. Eighteen of the newly “created” (the appointment of cardinal is referred to in this manner because it depends on the free will of the Pope) will join the world’s most exclusive “club”, the group that will be responsible for voting for the Pope, while the remaining four, who are over 80, will receive the red biretta for merits acquired during their long service, but they cannot participate in a Conclave because they are beyond the age limit for cardinal electors.
Along with the red hat (the classic “three-cornered hat”, but without the tassel), the new cardinals will also receive from the Pope’s hands the note of appointment with the name of the Roman Church assigned to them – each cardinal receives one – together with the Cardinal ring. Until the last consistory, held in November 2010, the Pope presented the ring the day after the imposition of the biretta, during a Mass in St. Peter’s concelebrated with the new cardinals. The ritual has been revised and streamlined, and now newly elected cardinals will receive everything in one go, on Saturday morning.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.