20 October 2010

Random Facts about the 2010 class of Cardinals

When the new 24 Cardinals-Designate join the college, it will lower the average age by 0.7 years to 77.85 (0.5 years among just the electors to 72.50).

The average age of the new voting members is just under 70. (Compared to 66.8 in 2007 and 67.6 in 2006.)

The number of voting members will total 121 on 20 November, but it will fall back to 120 toward the end of January 2011. At the last consistory to create cardinals (2007), Pope Benedict XVI intended to make the number of voting members total 121, but Stephen Fumio Cardinal Hamao died before the consistory.

Cardinal-Designate Reinhard Marx (Archbishop of München und Freising {Munich}, Germany) will become the youngest member of the college at age: 57.2. He is taking the spot from Péter Cardinal Erdõ (Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary) currently age 58.3.

In an unusual move, two of the cardinals-designate are retired residential bishops: Medardo Joseph Mazombwe (Archbishop Emeritus of Lusaka, Zambia; Age: 79.2) and Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, (Archbishop Emeritus of Quito, Ecuador; Age: 76.9).