Pope Francis will appoint 13 new cardinals next month.

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Gregorio Borgia / AP / SIPA

Pope Francis announced on Sunday that he would create 13 new Catholic cardinals next month, including the first African-American "Prince of the Church" and a Franciscan preacher.

The Sovereign Pontiff made this surprise announcement from his window overlooking Saint Peter's Square in Rome, at the end of the weekly Angelus prayer, and specified that they would be appointed on November 28.

It will be "an unusual and perhaps even unprecedented ceremony to take place in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic," Vatican expert Joshua McElwee said as quoted by the

National Catholic Reporter

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Nine of the new cardinals are under 80

The Vatican is on high alert and is closely monitoring the health of the Pope, following the news of several cases of coronavirus in the microstate, and such a ceremony could pose a risk to older participants.

Nine of the new cardinals are under 80, and can therefore participate in conclaves to elect the leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, who is chosen from among them.

Cardinals, or “princes” of the Church, also hold the highest administrative positions in the Vatican.

Wilton Gregory, the first African-American cardinal

Among the 13 new cardinals are Archbishop of Washington Wilton Gregory, 72, a progressive who will be the first African-American cardinal, as well as Italian Father Raniero Cantalamessa, 84, preacher of the papal household.

Italian bishop Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints since the dismissal of his predecessor, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, on suspicion of financial embezzlement, is also among the new cardinals.

As are the Maltese Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod of bishops, Antoine Kambanda, archbishop of Kigali in Rwanda, Jose Fuerte Advincula, archbishop of Capiz in the Philippines, and Celestino Aos Braco, archbishop of Santiago in Chile.

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