Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including archbishop of Toronto

TORONTO — The Archbishop of Toronto is among 21 new cardinals Pope Francis named Sunday and the lone new cardinal from North America.

Archbishop Francis Leo, 53, was born in Montreal and previously served as vicar general and moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Montreal and auxiliary bishop of Montreal. He has served as archbishop of Toronto since March 2023.

Leo was not available for interviews Sunday as the archdiocese said the news was quite sudden, but he issued a statement saying he is humbled and honoured to receive the appointment.

“I pray and rely on the prayers of the faithful in Toronto that I will be a worthy servant of the Lord Jesus in fulfilling my responsibilities as a member of the College of Cardinals and to continue in my primary role as shepherd of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Toronto,” he wrote.

The Pope significantly increased the size of the College of Cardinals with Sunday’s appointments, further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor.

The new cardinals will get their red hats at a ceremony, known as a consistory, on Dec. 8.

One of the other people named Sunday as a cardinal is Monsignor Angelo Acerbi, a retired Vatican diplomat once held hostage for six weeks in Colombia by leftist guerrillas, who at age 99 is the only new intake over 80 and hence too old to vote for a new pope.

The South American-born Pope also named as cardinals the heads of several major dioceses and archdioceses from that continent, including archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, Vicente Bokalic Iglic; the archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Jaime Spengler; and the archbishop of Santiago, Chile, Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib.

Francis also tapped the archbishop of Tehran, Iran, Monsignor Dominique Joseph Mathieu, the bishop of Bogor, Indonesia, Monsignor Paskalis Bruno Syukor, and the archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Monsignor Ignace Bessi Dogbo, among others.

Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto remains a cardinal elector until January of 2027, the Archdiocese of Toronto wrote in a statement.

Other Cardinal-electors from Canada include Cardinal Gérald Lacroix of the Archdiocese of Quebec and Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2024.

— with files from The Associated Press

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press