The upcoming Consistory, scheduled for September 30th, will convene 243 cardinals. With the Consistory announcement, the Pope emphasizes the cardinals' representation of the Church's universality. Notably, a multitude of cardinals hail from diverse religious orders, enriching the Catholic Church with their distinct charisms.

Salesians at the Forefront

The Salesians dominate numerically among the religious orders, boasting 11 cardinals. Among them, five are electors: Bo, Do Carmo da Silva, Lopez Romero, Sturla, and the soon-to-be-appointed Rector Major Artime. Pope Francis elevated each of them to the cardinalate. The remaining six non-electors include cardinals Amato, Bertone, Ezzati Andrello, Farina, Rodriguez Maradiaga, and Zen.

Franciscans

Additionally, ten Franciscans contribute to the College, seven of whom possess voting rights in a conclave. This group encompasses Minor Friars, Capuchins, and Conventuals. Noteworthy Capuchin electors are Ambongo, Aos Braco, and O'Malley, while Cardinal Steiner and the soon-to-be-appointed Pizzaballa represent the Minor Friars. Conventuals are represented by Cardinal Gambetti and the future cardinal Bustillo. Non-electors encompass Cardinal Cantalamessa, a Capuchin, and Friar Napier, a Minor Friar. The soon-to-be-appointed Argentinean Dri also belongs to the Capuchin order.

Jesuits and Pope Francis

Nine Jesuits, colleagues of Pope Francis, contribute to the College, with six of them below the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave: Barreto Jimeno, Czerny, Hollerich, Ladaria Ferrer, along with the recently announced cardinals, Argentinean Rossi and Chinese Chow Saw-Yan. The remaining Jesuits—Daarmatmadja, Ghirlanda, and Tamkevicius—are non-electors.

Augustinians and Dominicans

Two cardinals hail from the Augustinian order, both retaining voting rights in a conclave: the soon-to-be-appointed Prevost and Lacunza Maestrojuan, born in Panama but of Spanish nationality, belonging to the Recollect Augustinians.

Two Dominicans, Schonborn from Austria and the non-elector Duka from the Czech Republic, represent their order in the College.

Spiritans and Lazarists

The Spiritans contribute two cardinals, with Nzapalainga from the Central African Republic serving as an elector and Piat from the Mauritius Islands as a non-elector. Likewise, the Lazarists have two cardinals: Souraphiel from Ethiopia as an elector and Rodè from Slovenia as a non-elector.

Claretians and Other Orders

The College also includes two Claretians: Cardinals Saraiva Martins and Bocos Merino. However, due to their age, both are excluded from future conclaves.

Other orders represented by one elector each include the Carmelites with Arborelius from Sweden, the Comboni Missionaries with Ayuso from Spain, the Congregation of Holy Cross with Cardinal D'Rozario (who turns 80 the day after the Consistory), the Institute of the Incarnate Word with Mangkhanekhoun from Laos, the Consolata Missionaries with Cardinal Marengo, the Sulpicians with Cardinal Ouellet, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart with Cardinal Ribat, the Cistercians with Cardinal Tempesta, the Redemptorists with Cardinal Tobin, and the Legionaries of Christ with Cardinal Vergez Alzaga.

Non-Elector Cardinals

Notably, several orders have a single cardinal, although they are non-electors. These include the Don Calabria Foundation with Dal Corso from Italy, the Missionaries of Africa (also known as the White Fathers) with Fitzgerald from England, the Eudists with Jimenez Carvajal from Mexico, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate with Quevedo from the Philippines, the Mariamite Maronite Order (known as the Aleppian Antonians) with Rai from Lebanon, and the Scalabrinians with Tomasi from Italy.

Out of the 243 cardinals comprising the College of Cardinals on September 30th, 56 belong to religious orders, with 33 electors and 23 above the age of 80.

This article was originally published on ACI Stampa.