VATICAN CITY — Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the former
archbishop of Krakow and longtime secretary to St. John Paul II, celebrated his
80th birthday April 27, ending his eligibility to vote in a conclave.
With his birthday, the College of Cardinals returns to having 120
cardinal electors, the maximum limit established by St. Paul VI, but frequently
set aside for months at a time over the past three decades.
The Catholic Church currently has 222 cardinals, who come from 88
nations.
The 120 cardinals under 80 years of age and, therefore, eligible
to enter a conclave, come from 65 countries, a result of Pope Francis' practice
of naming several cardinals from countries that have never had one before.
His efforts, however, have not done much to make the percentage
of cardinals from one geographical region match the percentage of the world's
Catholics found in that region.
For example, according to Vatican statistics published in
February, 21.8 percent of the world's Catholics live in Europe, while 48.5
percent live in Latin America.
In the current College of Cardinals, 42.5 percent of the cardinal
electors come from Europe, while 17.5 percent come from Latin America.
However, Pope Francis has visibly shifted the college's makeup
with fewer members being from Europe and many more from African and Asia.
In the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005
after the death of St. John Paul II, 115 cardinals from 52 countries entered
the Sistine Chapel: 50.4 percent were from Europe; 18.2 percent were from Latin
America; 12.1 percent were from the U.S. and Canada; 9.6 percent were from
Africa; 7.8 percent were from Asia; and 1.7 percent were from Australia, New
Zealand and the South Pacific.
Eight years later, when Pope Benedict resigned, 115 cardinals
from 48 countries participated in the conclave that elected Pope Francis: 52.1
percent of the cardinal electors were from Europe; 16.5 percent were Latin
American; 12.1 were North Americans; 9.6 were from Africa; 8.7 percent were
from Asia; and less than 1 percent were from what the Vatican calls Oceania.
With Cardinal Dziwisz leaving the group, the cardinal electors
now include: 42.5 percent from Europe; 17.5 percent from Latin America; 10
percent from North America; 13.3 percent from Africa; 13.3 percent from Asia
and 3.3 percent from Oceania.