On Saturday (Sept. 30), Pope Francis’ new advisors will be officially “created” or appointed during a ceremony inside St. Peter’s Basilica.
During the consistory, selected clerics will be presented by the Pope with the cardinal’s scarlet three-cornered biretta hat.
Three of the 21 new cardinals appointed last July are from Africa. Among them is the Archbishop of Cape Town, who addressed before of the consistory on Thursday (Sept. 28).
“Coming particularly from South Africa where we have come through the Apartheid area and where I personally expected in those years that the country would just descend into a civil war, we were able to achieve a democratic country and a peaceful settlement. And I think that, that was a miracle that was given to us and I think that in itself is a sign of hope as well.”
On Saturday, the co-adjutor archbishop of Tabora in Tanzania and the archbishop of Juba in South Sudan will be appointed.
Cardinals advise the Pope on questions of education and governance.
Most importantly, they elect the next Pope.