Radical Change In Catholic Church Over The Last 100 Years

One Diversity Win For The Catholic Church The College of Cardinals has become increasingly diverse over the last century, mirroring the regional demographic shift of global Catholic population. The election of Pope Francis (the first pope from the Americas, the first from the southern hemisphere, and the first non-European pope since Pope Gregory III was elected in 741) in 2013, and his recent appointment of 16 voting-age cardinals from 12 different countries, could herald a desire in church leadership to make themselves more reflective of their membership. Number of living cardinals by year and region I North America I South America Oceania Europe, except Italy I Italy Africa Asia 50 100 150 200 1914 • YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE 1915 1916 1917 1918 ELECTED: ITALIAN Pope Benedict XV September 3, 1914– January 22, 1922 1919 1920 ELECTED: ITALIAN 1921 Pope Pius XI February 6, 1922- February 10, 1939 YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE 1922 • 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 ELECTED: ITALIAN YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE Pope Pius XII March 2, 1939-October 9, 1958 1939 • 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 ELECTED: ITALIAN 1949 Pope John XXI 1950 October 28, 1958-June 3, 1963 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE ELECTED: ITALIAN 1958 • Pope Paul VI 1959 June 21, 1963- 1960 August 6, 1978 1961 1962 YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE 1963 • 1964 1965 1966 1970: Pope Paul VI disqualifies cardinals from voting in conclaves when they reach the age of 80, and limits voting college to 120. Cardinals older than 80 can participate in general congregations. 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 Non-voting cardinals (over age 80) 1972 Europe, except Italy I Italy 1973 North America Asia 1974 South America Oceania Africa 1975 1976 1977 YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 ELECTED: ITALIAN ELECTED: POLISH Pope John Paul I August 26, 1978– September 28, 1978 Pope John Paul II October 16, 1978- 1989 1990 1991 April 2, 2005 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 ELECTED: GERMAN 1999 Pope Benedict XVI April 19, 2005– February 28, 2013 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE 2005 - 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 YEAR OF PAPAL CONCLAVE 2013 ELECTED: ARGENTINIAN 2014 Pope Francis March 13, 2013- present 50 100 150 200 Shift Mirrors Membership Changes Regional distribution of global Catholic population* North America Europe I Latin America-Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa I Asia-Pacific I Middle East-North Africa Less than1% 1910 65% 24% 5% 5% 2010 24% 39% 8% 12% 16% Less than1% *Numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. Sources: Catholic Hierarchy, American Catholic, Pew Photos: Getty THE HUFFINGTON POST