Sculptor captures ‘heart and soul’ of Mary, Joseph in statues for renovated cathedral

Oregon sculptor’s bronze statue of Mary and Joseph at Kansas cathedral. (Photo courtesy Rip Caswell)

A world away from Rome, the conclave and the papal watch there’s excitement at the local church level about something entirely different — but a celebration of the Catholic faith nonetheless. The excitement is in Wichita, Kan., about the completion of the renovation of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

In February 2012 we reported on the 18-month project to upgrade, enhance and preserve the cathedral in this story from part of the Catholic Advance.

The Wichita Diocese selected Oregon sculptor Rip Caswell to create the dramatic monuments. Caswell has a reputation for historical accuracy and “painstaking attention to detail.”

“We selected Rip,” explains Msgr. Robert Hemberger, chairman of the Cathedral Arts Committee, “above all, because of his ability to capture the heart and soul of a subject — this especially comes through in the face and eyes of his work.”

Sculptor stands by Crucifix he created for Kansas cathedral. (Photo courtesy Rip Caswell)

The two sculptures, each standing taller than 7 feet and weighing approximately half a ton apiece, are of Mary and Joseph and of the Crucifix. They stand apart in separate east and west alcoves of the cross-shaped cathedral, facing one another across the open space.

“They appear connected, almost as though there is a conversation taking place,” Msgr. Hemberger said in a statement. “Mary and child, with Joseph by her side, has a distant look in her eyes, as though seeing her Son’s future.” About Caswell’s work the priest added: “We’re astounded by the beauty of what he’s created. It’s truly amazing.” Caswell’s figure of Christ on the cross is looking down but his face reflects a sense of calm and peace.

According to a news release, Caswell used wood from Israel and stones from the Jordan River for the cross and the base of his sculptures. A young Jewish girl was his model for Mary and Catholic seminarians were models for Christ.

The artist, who has created more than 200 sculptures, has been sculpting in bronze for 20 years. He was recently commissioned to create a national monument to five-star Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, scheduled to be unveiled Sept. 2 at Pearl Harbor.

In pre-conclave sermon, cardinal dean calls for unity

Cardinal Angelo Sodano in St. Peter’s Basilica, March 12, 2013 (screen grab from Vatican television)

VATICAN CITY — Hours before the start of the conclave that will choose the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals celebrated the papacy as a source of unity among Catholics and of evangelization and charitable service to the world.

Christ “has established his apostles and among them Peter, who takes the lead, as the visible foundation of the unity of the church,” said Cardinal Angelo Sodano in his homily at St. Peter’s Basilica March 12. “Each of us is therefore called to cooperate with the successor of Peter, the visible foundation of such an ecclesial unity.”

Cardinal Sodano, 85, concelebrated the Mass “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice” (for the election of the Roman pontiff) with some 170 other cardinals, including 115 under 80 who will be entering the conclave in the Sistine Chapel this afternoon.

At the start of the Mass, as a choir and the congregation chanted verses from the psalms, the cardinals processed up the main aisle of the basilica, wearing vestments in the red of Pentecost, signifying their invocation of the Holy Spirit to guide the papal election.

Cardinal Sodano’s homily included words of thanks for the “brilliant pontificate” of Pope Benedict XVI, which prompted over 30 seconds of applause.

The cardinal quoted the retired pope’s description of charity as a “constitutive element of the church’s mission and an indispensable expression of her being,” and his warning that charity must not be reduced to “solidarity or simply humanitarian aid,” since the “greatest work of charity is evangelization, which is the ‘ministry of the word.’”

Christ’s “mission of mercy,” Cardinal Sodano said, “is especially entrusted to the bishop of Rome, shepherd of the universal church.”

“The last popes have been builders of so many good initiatives for people and for the international community, tirelessly promoting justice and peace,” the cardinal said. “Let us pray that the future pope may continue this unceasing work on the world level.”

Given its timing, the homily at the cardinals’ last Mass before a conclave is commonly interpreted as an exhortation to the cardinal-electors on the priorities they should follow in choosing the next pope.

On the same occasion in 2005, the cardinal dean gave a now-famous sermon that warned believers against trends in contemporary culture, particularly a “dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires.” He emerged from the Sistine Chapel the next day as Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Sodano’s words could also prove influential, but he is too old to vote in this conclave, and while the cardinal-electors are permitted to choose someone from outside their number, the last time they did so was in 1378.

11 U.S. cardinals to enter conclave

Eleven U.S. cardinals will take part in the conclave beginning tomorrow to elect a new pope. (CNS graphic/Paul Haring and Nancy Phelan Wiechec)

Alphabetical list of cardinal electors’ first names in Latin

Balcony where the name of the cardinal elected pope will be announced in Latin. (CNS/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY — Here is an alphabetical list of the cardinal electors’ first names in Latin, in the accusative case, which is likely to be that used when announcing the name of the new pope.

Several cardinals are listed twice because they may be referred to by their baptismal name, given name or religious name. For instance, Indian Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, is listed twice because the “Acta Apostolicae Sedis,” (The Official Acts of the Holy See) has used both versions. U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada and Dutch Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht are listed twice because “Gulielmum” and “Villelmum” are both acceptable versions of their name.

Albertum
– Albert Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Aloisium
– Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines.
– Lluis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona, Spain.

Andream
– Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris.

Angelum
– Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.
– Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa, Italy.
– Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.
– Angelo Scola of Milan.

Ansgarium
– Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Antonium
– Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
– Antonios Naguib, former Coptic Catholic patriarch, Egypt.
- Anthony Olubunmi Okogie of Lagos, Nigeria.

Antonium Mariam
– Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid.
– Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.

Attilium
– Attilio Nicora, president emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

Audrys
– Audrys Juozas Backis of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Augustinum
– Agostino Vallini, papal vicar for Rome.

Bachara or Becharam
– Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch.

Basilium Clementem
Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Carolum
– Carlos Amigo Vallejo of Seville, Spain.
– Carlo Caffarra, of Bologna, Italy.
– Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Germany.

Casimirum
– Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, Poland.

Christophorum
– Christoph Schonborn of Vienna.

Claudium
– Claudio Hummes, retired prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.

Conradum
– Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Crescentium
– Crescenzio Sepe of Naples, Italy.

Daniel or Danielem
– Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.

Dionigium
– Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan.

Dominicum
– Domenico Calcagno, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
– Dominik Duka of Prague, Czech Republic.

Donaldum
– Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.

Eduinum
– Edwin F. O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Emmanuelem
– Manuel Monteiro de Castro, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

Ennium
– Ennio Antonelli, retired president of Pontifical Council for the Family.

Ferdinandum
– Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Franciscum
– Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.
– Francis E. George of Chicago.
– Francesco Monterisi, retired secretary of the Congregation for Bishops.
– Francisco Robles Ortega of Guadalajara, Mexico.
– Franc Rode, retired prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Franciscum Xaverium
– Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago de Chile.

Georgium
– George Alencherry of Ernakulam-Angamaly, major archbishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.
– Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
– George Pell of Sydney.
– Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas, Venezuela.

Gabrielem
– Gabriel Zubeir Wako of Khartoum, Sudan.

Gerardum
– Geraldo Majella Agnelo of Sao Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

Godefridum
– Godfried Danneels of Mechelen-Brussels.

Gulielmum
– Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht, Netherlands.
– William Joseph Levada, retired prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Iacobum
– James M. Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
– Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana.

Ioachim
– Joachim Meisner of Cologne, Germany.

Ioannem
– Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland.
– Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
– Juan Cipriani Thorne of Lima, Peru.
– Giovanni Lajolo, retired president of the commission governing Vatican City State.
– John Njue of Nairobi, Kenya.
– John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria.
– Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston.
– Juan Sandoval Iniguez of Guadalajara, Mexico.
– John Tong Hon of Hong Kong.

Ioannem Baptistam
– Giovanni Battista Re, retired prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
– Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Ioannem Claudium
– Jean-Claude Turcotte of Montreal.

Ioannem Ludovicum
– Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Ioannem Franciscum
– Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Ioannem Patricium
– Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston.

Ioannem Petrum
– Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux, France.

Iosephum
– Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission governing Vatican City State.
– Giuseppe Betori of Florence, Italy.
– Josip Bozanic of Zagreb, Croatia.
– Jose da Cruz Policarpo, Lisbon, Portugal.
– Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

Iulium
– Julio Terrazas Sandoval of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

Iustinum
– Justin Rigali of Philadelphia.

Isaac
– Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Laurentium
– Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo.

Ivanum
– Ivan Dias, retired prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Leonardum
– Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

Marcum
– Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

Maurum
– Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.

Nicolaum
– Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Norbertum
– Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City.

Odilonem
– Odilo Pedro Scherer of Sao Paulo.

Osvaldum
– Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India.

Patricium
– Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston.

Paulum
– Paolo Sardi, a former official in the Vatican Secretariat of State.
– Paul Josef Cordes, retired president of Pontifical Council Cor Unum.
– Paolo Romeo of Palermo, Italy.

Petrum
– Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary.
– Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Philippum
– Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, France.

Polycarpum
– Polycarp Pengo of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Radulfum
– Raul Vela Chiriboga, retired archbishop of Quito, Ecuador.

Raimundum
– Raymond L. Burke, prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature.
– Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, Brazil.

Rainardum
– Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany.

Rainerium
– Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin.

Raphaelem
– Raffaele Farina, retired head of the Vatican Secret Archives and the Vatican Library.

Robertum
– Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

Rogerium
– Roger Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles.

Ruben
– Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, Colombia.

Sanctum
– Santos Abril Castello, archpriest of Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Severium
– Severino Poletto of Turin, Italy.

Stanislaum
– Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland.
– Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Telesphorum
– Telesphore Toppo, of Ranchi, India.

Tharsicium
– Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state.

Theodorum
– Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal.

Thomam
– Thomas C. Collins of Toronto.

Timotheum
– Timothy M. Dolan of New York.

Valtherum
– Walter Kasper, retired president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Velasium
– Velasio De Paolis, papal delegate overseeing reform of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi.

Vilfridum
– Wilfrid F. Napier of Durban, South Africa.

Villelmum
– Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht, Netherlands.
– William Joseph Levada, retired prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Vincentium
– Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Zenonem
– Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Quid est in nomine? Latin name is key clue

VATICAN CITY — The first clue to the identity of the new pope will be the announcement of his first name — in Latin, in the accusative case.

If he is not the one chosen, French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the top-ranked cardinal-deacon, will say, in Latin, “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope: His most Eminent and Reverend Lordship, Lord …” followed by the Latin version of the chosen cardinal’s first name.

If Cardinal Tauran says, “Lord Odilonem” everyone would know the new pope was Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer of Sao Paulo. They would not have to wait for Cardinal Tauran to announce the new pope’s last name.

But if he says Angelum, it would not necessarily mean the new pope was the media-touted Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan; there are three other Italian cardinals also named Angelo.

If the cardinal says “Ioannem,” things would be much more complicated. Fifteen cardinals’ names begin Juan, Jean or Giovanni, the equivalent of John.

Five cardinals’ first names are variations of “Iosephum” (Joseph), five are named “Franciscum” (Francis) and five have names beginning “Antonium” (Anthony).

Only two are named after the apostle Peter, “Petrum,” and three after the apostle Paul, “Paulum.”

The 115 cardinals who will enter the Sistine Chapel for the conclave include four named “Georgium” or George and three who would be called “Carolum,” like Blessed John Paul II, the former Karol Wojtyla.

There are limits to translation possibilities: Lithuanian Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis of Vilnius would be called Audrys and Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai would be either Bachara or Becharam.

When the Vatican’s Office of Latin Letters is called upon to write a letter in Latin to one of the cardinals, the “Acta Apostolicae Sedis,” the book of official acts of the Holy See, is the go-to place for which version of their name to use. The volumes for 1909 through the end of 2012 are online on the Vatican website.

Apparently, though, it is not always that easy. Indian Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Isaac Thottunkal, major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, has been referred to both as Basilium Clementem and Isaac.

It also is possible that Cardinal Tauran will not use the accusative case when he announces the name. He could say, “Marcus” instead of “Marcum” if the cardinals choose Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who has been prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

A full list of the cardinal electors’ names in Latin can be found here.

Preparing for conclave, Cardinal Dolan visits his Rome parish

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan speaks with journalists March 10 outside the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rome. (CNS/Paul Haring)

ROME (CNS) – An ordinary parish in a middle-class Rome neighborhood became a center of pre-conclave excitement March 10 when its honorary pastor, New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, came to celebrate Sunday Mass.

Cardinal Dolan had taken formal possession of his titular church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, only five months earlier. Now he was back, two days before the start of voting in a papal election that some observers have said could end by making him the first American pope.

Entering at the end of a procession of two dozen priests and altar servers, the cardinal took five minutes to make his way up the aisle of the small church, stopping to greet individual parishioners as a trumpeter and organist played the baroque “Prince of Denmark’s March,” a standard of wedding ceremonies.

“What a big crowd,” Cardinal Dolan remarked during his homily, looking out at the standing-room-only congregation of more than 300, which included a number of journalists. “Let’s take two collections this morning, okay?”

He asked the parishioners to keep the “secret” that, “after St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, this is my favorite church.”

“It is as a pastor of a parish in Rome, even if only honorary, that I am here to elect a new Bishop of Rome, a new pope,” he said. “We cardinals feel the support of the prayers of God’s people all over the world. This also makes us rejoice.”

Having smiled broadly through much of the liturgy, the cardinal assumed a solemn expression toward the end, when the trumpeter played a mournful solo resembling “Taps.” Msgr. Franco Mammoli, the church’s pastor, explained that the interlude was supposed to be a moment of prayer to the Holy Spirit for the cardinals who would be voting for the next pope.

Cardinal Dolan closed on a note of levity, however, joking that he might take some candies with him into the conclave, “because I’ve heard that the food isn’t good.”

He also said he hoped to visit the parish again before leaving Rome, since he would be staying until the installation Mass of the new pope. At that point, Msgr. Mammoli moved aside the microphone and told the cardinal something inaudible to the rest of the congregation.

Cardinal Dolan “seems like someone who knows how to speak to people, who knows how to stimulate each person’s soul,” said one parishioner, Germano Tatafiore, 52. “He touches you. He has a face, a voice, a manner that touch you.”

Italians would welcome the American as pope, Tatafiore said, among other reasons because he seems like someone who could end reported mismanagement and corruption inside the Vatican.

“He is a very sweet person, very open,” said another parishioner, Lina Napolitano. “Easygoing, very simple, even though he is a very smart person.”

After changing out of his vestments, the cardinal stepped to a window of the rectory to acknowledge a group of 30 American pilgrims led by the Sirius Radio host Lino Rulli. The pilgrims greeted him with shouts of “Pope Dolan!”

The cardinal stopped before leaving to speak briefly with several dozen journalists, largely from New York, whom he told that the cardinals’ pre-conclave meetings had left him with a feeing of “immense serenity.”

“The last week has been just filled with apostolic fraternity and good prayer and solid conversation, a real sense of trust and confidence,” he said. “A week ago we would have said, ‘wow, we’ve got a lot of work to do,’ but now you see a sense of resignation and trust and faith.”

Twelve to watch as cardinals gather in Rome

UPDATES: Here are more names we’ve added to our list of influential cardinals after we published the article below:

– Boston prelate known for humility, humor, crisis management (Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley)

– Italian cardinal sees holiness, prayer as key to vocations (Cardinal Mauro Piacenza)

– Pastor, educator: Genoa’s Cardinal Bagnasco promotes traditional family (Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco)

– Argentine Cardinal Bergoglio was second on each ballot in last conclave (Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio)

——————–

(Originally posted on catholicnews.com)

Editor’s Note: For more on each cardinal, click on the boldface links below.

By Cindy Wooden and Francis X. Rocca
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Wherever journalists and bookmakers may be getting the names on their lists of top candidates for the next pope, it’s not from the cardinals who will actually vote in the election. Both custom and canon law forbid the cardinals to discuss the matter in such detail with outsiders.

Moreover, the true “papabili” — literally, pope-ables — were likely to emerge only after all the worlds’ cardinals began their pre-conclave meetings at the Vatican last week.

One thing is already clear, however: because of their experience and the esteem they enjoy among their peers, certain cardinals are likely to serve as trusted advisers to the rest in the discussions and election.

Here, in alphabetical order, are 12 cardinals expected to have a major voice in the deliberations:

Cardinal Dolan arrives for a general congregation meeting March 7. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Conventional wisdom has long held that the cardinals will never elect an American pope, lest the leadership of the church appear to be linked with the United States’ economic and geopolitical dominance. But the extroverted and jocular Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 63, charmed and impressed many in the College of Cardinals in February 2012 when he delivered the main presentation at a meeting Pope Benedict XVI had called to discuss the new evangelization. The pope himself praised the New York archbishop’s presentation on how to revive the faith in increasingly secular societies as “enthusiastic, joyful and profound.”

– Although not a familiar name in the press, Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, 60, is a major figure among his peers in Europe, the church’s traditional heartland and the region of more than half the cardinal electors. He was elected to a second five-year term as president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences in 2011.

Cardinal Ouellet arrives for a general congregation meeting March 8. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68, is a member of the Society of St. Sulpice, whose members are, strictly speaking, diocesan priests but which is normally considered a religious order. Hence he is one of only 19 members of religious orders among the cardinal electors, who are overwhelmingly diocesan clergy. He is prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, which coordinates the nomination of bishops in Latin-rite dioceses around the world, so his work has brought him into frequent contact with most of his fellow cardinal-electors. As president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, he is well acquainted with one of the church’s largest and fastest-growing regions. The former archbishop of Quebec, who taught at the John Paul II Institute at Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University, is also a well-respected theologian.

– Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, 70, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, was the prelate chosen by Pope Benedict to lead his 2013 Lenten retreat, which will make him a prominent voice at the Vatican in the run-up to the election. The cardinal, a scholar with little direct pastoral experience, has been leading the universal church’s efforts to develop a nonconfrontational dialogue with nonbelievers, trying to make Christianity intelligible to the modern mind and build a reason-based consensus on key moral issues.

Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga (CNS file/Paul Haring)

– Another religious, a Salesian, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, 70, is president of Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella group of national Catholic charities around the world. As a result, many of his peers have come to know the multilingual cardinal as the person spearheading assistance to the neediest of their people. He aroused controversy in 2002 with remarks about clergy sex abuse that struck some as overly defensive of accused priests and the church’s past policies. But he was already widely mentioned as a possible pope before the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict.

– Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, was born to parents of Italian descent and has maintained strong ties with both Italy and Argentina. As prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, he is familiar with the challenges facing Eastern Catholics and the pastoral concerns of the church in the Middle East. He has worked in the Vatican for more than a dozen years, and previously served as nuncio to Venezuela and then Mexico. His only experience in a parish was a brief assignment shortly after his ordination as a priest.

Cardinal Sarah  (CNS file/Paul Haring)

– Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, 67, is president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which promotes Catholic charitable giving. He has used his leadership to emphasize Pope Benedict’s teaching that Catholic charitable activity must not be simple philanthropy, but an expression of faith, rooted in prayer and Catholic identity. A scripture scholar and former diocesan bishop, he served nine years as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

– Another leading voice of the South American church is 63-year-old Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest diocese. The son of German immigrants, he also has strong ties to Rome. He studied philosophy and theology at Rome’s Pontifical Brazilian College and Pontifical Gregorian University and worked as an official of the Congregation for Bishops from 1994 to 2001.

Cardinal Schonborn arrives for a general congregation meeting March 7. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, 68, has known Pope Benedict for almost 40 years, having studied under him at the University of Regensburg, Germany. Even before his former professor became pope, the cardinal was well known at the Vatican and in wider church circles. He was invited in 1996 to preach Blessed John Paul II’s Lenten retreat and was the main editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1992. As the church in Austria has struggled with declining attendance and calls for change in some of its most basic disciplines, Cardinal Schonborn’s response has received increasing attention, with some praising his prudence and pastoral sensitivity, and others calling for more decisive action.

– Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola, 71, is the archbishop of Milan, the archdiocese led by both Popes Pius XI and Paul VI when they were elected. He previously served as patriarch of Venice, once the see of Blessed John XXIII. The cardinal, a respected academic theologian rather than a popular preacher, has longstanding ties to one of the new church movements, Communion and Liberation, which is based in his archdiocese.

Cardinal Tagle after being made a cardinal last November. (CNS/Paul Haring)

– Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, 55, is one of the youngest and newest members of the College of Cardinals. Although he did not receive his red hat until November 2012, he had already made a name for himself at the world Synod of Bishops on the Word of God in 2008. This leader of one of the world’s fastest-growing churches is a popular speaker with a doctorate in systematic theology and has served on the International Theological Commission, an advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

– Cardinal Peter Turkson is the 64-year-old former archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, and current president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The cardinal, a biblical scholar who was active in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, has frequently appeared on lists of possible popes. He aroused controversy in 2011 with a proposal for a “world central bank” to regulate the global financial industry, and then in October 2012 when he showed bishops at the Vatican a video warning about the growth of Muslim populations in Europe.