Background on the Conclave and Eligible Cardinals
The European continent holds the highest number of eligible cardinals, totaling 53, with Italy leading in candidates at 17. The United States follows closely with 10 eligible cardinals.
On Monday, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in Vatican City, called upon eligible cardinals to promptly travel to the Vatican for the Conclave. This unique and definitive process will select the next leader of Catholicism.
Currently, the Sacred College comprises 252 cardinals from 94 countries, with 138 eligible to vote in the Conclave since each elector must be under 80 years old at the time of election.
Mexican Cardinals: Carlos Aguiar Retes and Francisco Robles Ortega
Mexico has six cardinals in the Sacred College, but only two are eligible due to age restrictions: Carlos Aguiar Retes and Francisco Robles Ortega.
Carlos Aguiar Retes
Born in Nayarit in 1950, Aguiar Retes is the current Archbishop Primate of Mexico. He was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis in October 2016 and archbishop of Mexico in December 2017. He studied Humanities and Philosophy at the Seminary of Tepic in the 1960s, Theology at the Seminary of Montezuma (US) from 1969 to 1972, and the Seminary of Tula, Hidalgo from 1972 to 1973. He was ordained a priest in 1973.
Aguiar Retes served as president of the Latin American Episcopal Council from 2011 to 2015. He is one of the two Mexican cardinals who can vote and is eligible for the papacy.
Francisco Robles Ortega
Born in Jalisco in 1949, Robles Ortega has been the Archbishop of Guadalajara since 2012. He studied at the Minor Seminary of Autlán and later Filosofía at the Major Seminary in Guadalajara and Teología at the Seminary of Zamora. He was ordained a priest in 1976.
Robles Ortega served as Bishop of Toluca from 1996 to 2003 and was appointed Archbishop of Monterrey by Pope John Paul II in 2003. He was named cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2007. Robles Ortega participated in the 2013 Conclave to elect the successor of Pope Benedict XVI and was considered a strong candidate.
Key Questions and Answers
- Who are the Mexican cardinals eligible to participate in the Conclave? Carlos Aguiar Retes and Francisco Robles Ortega.
- What are the qualifications for a cardinal to be eligible to vote in the Conclave? A cardinal must be under 80 years old at the time of election.
- What is the purpose of the Conclave? The Conclave is a unique and definitive process to elect the next leader of Catholicism.
- What roles have the Mexican cardinals held? Carlos Aguiar Retes served as Archbishop Primate of Mexico and President of the Latin American Episcopal Council. Francisco Robles Ortega has been Archbishop of Guadalajara and participated in the 2013 Conclave.
