11 January 2010

Pre-Pope John Paul II Bishops (updated)

It has been a few months since my last post listing the pre-Pope John Paul II bishops. So here is a fresh list - with 8 fewer entries than the original.

So on to the question: How many active bishops were appointed to their current post before Pope John Paul II became Pope?

The answer is Thirty Four Twenty Nine ordinaries and Five auxiliary bishops.

(Last updated 2 May 2010)

The ordinaries are: (Date of Appointment, Date of Birth, Name, Title)
and the Auxiliaries:
Bishop Francis Hong Yong-ho was named by Pope Pius XII. Although he is still officially listed as "missing" it seems unlikely that he remains alive.

Bishop Joseph Dao was named by Pope John Paul I.

All of the others were named by Pope Paul VI.

You'll notice that many of them are at or near the retirement age. Before they do retire, let us take a moment to thank them for their many years of service!

03 January 2010

Quick Look: College of Cardinals as it ages

Since so many folks are now predicting a consistory to create cardinals later this year, it seems like a good time to take a look at the current college as it ages in the coming years.

There are a total of 183 living cardinals, with 112 of those under the age of 80 and thus able to vote in a conclave were it to become necessary.

Only 30 of those 112 were created cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI, all of the remaining cardinal electors were created by Pope John Paul II.

Eleven cardinals will lose their vote this year as they reach 80 - all were created by Pope John Paul II.

Nine more cardinals will lose their vote next year for the same reason. But two of those were created by Pope Benedict XVI.

Thirteen more lose their vote in 2012. Two of this group were created by Pope Benedict XVI.

The following table is for Cardinal Electors only.
End ofJP2 CardsB16 CardsTotal
20098230112
20107130101
2011642892
2012532679
2013442569
2014372360

Here are a couple of links that might be useful for further research: Cardinal Electors by Age and Cardinals by Rank.

Note: all of the above figures assume no Cardinal dies before reaching the age of 80 and obviously don't include any new Cardinals created.