The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.1983 CIC, Bk. II, Pt. II, Sec. I, Chap. III The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, cardinals serve for life, but become ineligible to participate in a conclave if they turn 80 before a papal vacancy occurs.
Since the emergence of the College of Cardinals in the Early Middle Ages, the size of the body has historically been limited by popes, ecumenical councils ratified by the pope, and the College itself. The total number of cardinals from 1099 to 1986 has been about 2,900, nearly half of whom were created after 1655.Broderick, 1987, p. 11. This number excludes possible undocumented 12th-century cardinals and pseudocardinals appointed during the Western Schism by pontiffs now considered to be antipopes, and subject to some other sources of uncertainty.
History
Development of the college The word cardinal is derived from the Latin cardō, meaning "hinge". The office of cardinal as it is known today slowly evolved during the first millennium from the clergy of Rome. "The first time that the term cardinal appears in the Liber Pontificalis is in the biography of Pope Stephen III when in the Roman Synod of 769, it was decided that the Roman pontiff should be elected from among the deacons and cardinal priests."
During the pontificate of Pope Stephen V (816–817), the three classes of the College that are present today began to form. Stephen V decreed that all cardinal bishops were bound to sing Mass on rotation at the high altar at St. Peter's Basilica, one per Sunday. The first class to form were the cardinal deacons, direct theological descendants of the original seven ordained in Acts 6, followed by the cardinal priests, and then the cardinal bishops.
In 845, the Council of Meaux–Paris "required bishops to establish cardinal titles or parishes in their towns and outlining districts". At the same time, the popes began referring to the cardinal priests of Rome to serve as legates and delegates within Rome at ceremonies, synods, councils, etc., as well as abroad on diplomatic missions and councils. Those who were assigned to the latter roles were given the titles of (Cardinal Legate) and (Special Envoy).
Later evolution The College played an integral part in various reforms within the Church as well, as early as the pontificate of Pope Leo IX (1050). The College of Cardinals was empowered to elect Popes by Pope Nicholas II through his 1059 papal bull , which was the culmination of the Gregorian Reforms, that arose after a prolonged period of interference by local aristocratic families, like the Theophylacti and Colonna, and the Holy Roman Emperor in papal selection process, which saw increased amounts of clerical abuse (see ).
In the 12th century, the Third Council of the Lateran declared that only cardinals could assume the papacy, a requirement which has since lapsed.
From the 13th to 15th centuries, the size of the College of Cardinals never exceeded thirty, although there were more than thirty parishes and diaconal districts which could potentially have a titular holder. Pope John XXII (1316–1334) formalized this norm by limiting the College to twenty members. In the ensuing century, increasing the size of the College became a method for the pope to raise funds for construction or war, cultivate European alliances, and dilute the strength of the College as a spiritual and political counterweight to papal supremacy.
Pope Pius IX retained the Sacred College of Cardinals within the Fundamental Statute for the Secular Government of the States of the Church which he instituted for the Papal States in March 1848, describing it as a "Senate" inseparable from the Papacy.Pope Pius IX, Statuto fondamentale pel Governo temporale degli Stati di Santa Chiesa (in Italian), published on 18 March 1846, accessed on 21 September 2026
Size of the College The conclave capitulation of the 1352 conclave limited the size of the College to 20, and decreed that no new cardinals could be created until the size of the College had dropped to 16. In 1353, Pope Innocent VI declared the capitulation invalid.Baumgartner, 2003, pp. 52–54.; Jugie, Pierre. Levillain, ed. 2002. "Cardinal." pp. 241–242.
By the end of the 14th century, the practice of having solely Italian cardinals had ceased. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, there was much struggle for the College between the cardinals and the reigning popes. Although some popes increased the number of cardinals in order to guarantee allies, Pope Benedict XII often refused to do so, and created six new cardinals on only one occasion, in 1338.
The Council of Basel (1431–1437), later transferred to Ferrara and then Florence, limited the size of the College to 24, as did the capitulation of the 1464 conclave.Burkle-Young, Francis A. 1998. "The election of Pope Paul II (1464)."Baumgartner, 2003, p. 78-79.; Walsh, 2003, p. 109. The capitulations of the 1484 (Pope Innocent VIII)Baumgartner, 2003, p. 82. and 1513 (Pope Leo X) conclaves contained the same restriction.Baumgartner, 2003, p. 92. The capitulation of the 1492 conclave also contained a restriction on the creation of new cardinals.Burkle-Young, Francis A. 1998. "The election of Pope Alexander VI (1492) ."
The Fifth Council of the Lateran (1512–1517), despite its detailed regulation of the lives of cardinals, did not consider the size of the College.Miranda, Salvador. 1998. "Guide to documents and events (76–2005)."
In 1517, Pope Leo X added another 31 cardinals, bringing the total to 65, so that he could have a supportive majority in the College of Cardinals. Pope Paul IV brought the total to 70. His immediate successor, Pope Pius IV (1559–1565), raised the limit to 76.Pham, 2004, p. 65.
Emperor Ferdinand I sought a limit of 26 and complained about the size and quality of the College to his legates to the Council of Trent, and some French attendees advocated a limit of 24, but the council did not prescribe a limit to the size of the College. By the papacy of Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590), the number was set at 70 in 1586, divided among 14 cardinal deacons, 50 cardinal priests, and six cardinal bishops.
Popes respected that limit, until Pope John XXIII increased the number of cardinals several times to 88 in January 1961. Pope Paul VI continued this expansion, reaching 134 at his third consistory in April 1969.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the College of Cardinals internationalized.
Number of electors The total size of the College lost its significance when Paul VI decided to allow only cardinals under the age of 80 to vote in a conclave from 1971 onward. See also: . In 1975, Paul VI set the maximum number of those under 80, the cardinal electors, at 120. See also: . His next consistory in 1976 brought the number of cardinal electors to its full complement of 120.
All of Paul VI's successors have at times exceeded the 120 maximum, except for Pope John Paul I, who did not hold any consistories during his very short pontificate. Pope John Paul II reiterated the 120 maximum in 1996, See also: .; yet his appointments to the College resulted in more than 120 cardinal electors in four of his nine consistories, reaching a high of 135 in February 2001 and again in October 2003.
Three of Pope Benedict XVI's five consistories resulted in more than 120 cardinal electors, the high being 125 in 2012.; Pope Francis exceeded the limit in all 10 of his consistories, reaching as high as 140 in December 2024.
Orders Other changes to the College in the 20th century affected specific orders. The 1917 Code of Canon Law decreed that, from then on, only those who were priests or bishops could be chosen as cardinals,canon 232 §1 thus officially closing the historical period in which some cardinals could be clergy who had only received first tonsure and minor order, or the major orders of deacon and subdeacon, without a further ordination to the priesthood.
In 1961, Pope John XXIII reserved to the pope the right to assign any member of the College to one of the suburbicarian sees and the rank of cardinal bishop. Previously only the senior cardinal priest and the senior cardinal deacon had the privilege of requesting such an appointment (jus optionis) when a vacancy occurred. In 1962, he established that all cardinals should be bishops, ending the identification of the order of cardinal deacon with cardinals who were not bishops. He consecrated the twelve non-bishop members of the College himself.
In February 1965, Pope Paul VI decided that an Eastern Rite Patriarch who is created a cardinal would no longer be assigned a titular church in Rome, but maintain his see and join the order of cardinal bishops, the rank previously reserved to the six cardinals assigned to the suburbicarian dioceses. He also required that the suburbicarian bishops elect one of themselves as the dean and vice-dean of the College, instead of allowing them to select any member of the College. In June 2018, Pope Francis eased the rules governing the rank of cardinal bishop to open that rank to anyone of the pope's choosing, granting such cardinals the same privileges as those assigned suburbicarian sees.
Other modifications Pope Francis adjusted the rules regarding the dean in December 2019, so he now serves for a term of five years, which can be renewed by the pope. No change was made regarding the vice-dean.
The resignation or removal of members has been a relatively rare phenomenon. Between 1791 and 2018, only one was removed from the CollegeÉtienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne in 1791 and five resigned: Tommaso Antici in 1798, Marino Carafa di Belvedere in 1807, Carlo Odescalchi in 1838, Louis Billot in 1927, and Theodore Edgar McCarrick in 2018.
Historical data For the Middle Ages, sources concerning the size of the College of Cardinals are most frequently those relating to papal elections and conclaves.Broderick, 1987, p. 13.
Year Size of the College109918111846111946 or 47112444113044114544119826121626122718124112 or 131244612618126421127610127771288101294 (July)111294 (December)21130318130419131216131630132716133816134816136117137130137418Source: Broderick, 1987, pp. 13–14.
+ Italian-born cardinals as percentage of the total College during each conclaveMay 202520.32202520.24201322.60200517.09October 197822.50August 197822.80196335.36195835.80193954.80192251.60191450.76190356.25187865.57184698.001830–183180.00182982.00182387.761799–180085.71
Functions A function of the College is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory,CIC 1983, can. 349 a term derived from the Roman Emperor's crown council. It attends various functions as a matter of protocol, for example, during the canonization process.
It convenes on the death or resignation of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor.John Paul II, Ap. Const. Universi Dominici gregis in AAS 88 (1996) It is then restricted to eligible cardinals under the age limit of 80, which was set for the first time in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
The College has no ruling power, except during the (papal vacancy) period. Even then, its powers are extremely limited by the terms of the current law, which is laid down in the apostolic constitution (1996) and the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State.