Two cardinals turned 80 last week, bringing the total number of cardinals eligible to vote in a possible conclave to 109. Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida, the retired archbishop of Detroit, turned 80 on March 18, and New Zealand’s Cardinal Thomas Stafford Williams, the retired archbishop of Wellington, turned 80 on Saturday.
The College of Cardinals is currently made up of 182 members, with 73 of them being 80 years old or older, and thus ineligible to vote in a conclave. By the end of the month, the College of Cardinals will have only 108 electors, and 74 non-electors.
Spanish Cardinal Julián Herranz will celebrate his 80th birthday on March 31. Cardinal Herranz is the retired president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.
The next consistory of cardinals, which is expected to take place this fall, could allow for the creation of some 27 new cardinals. That number would increase the number of cardinals beyond the maximum of 120, but would also take into account 16 other forthcoming birthdays.
Seven more cardinals will turn 80 this year: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in July; Cardinal Paul Poupard in August; Cardinals Salvatore De Giorgi, Ignace Moussa I Daoud, and Michele Giordano in September; Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi in October; and Cardinal Janis Pujats in November.
In 2011, nine more cardinals will be 80: Cardinal Bernard Louis Panafieu in January; Cardinals Ricardo Jamin Vidal, Agustín García-Gasco y Vicente, and Camillo Ruini in February; Cardinal William Keeler in March; Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani in April; Cardinals Bernard Law and Adrianus Johannes Simonis in November; and Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-Suk in December.
VATICAN CITY, (Zenit.org)