Cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave

The papal conclave of 2005 was convened to elect a pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, to succeed Pope John Paul II following his death on 2 April 2005. In accordance with the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, which governed the vacancy of the Holy See, only cardinals who had not passed their 80th birthday on the day on which the Holy See became vacant (in this case, cardinals who were born on or after 2 April 1925) were eligible to participate in the conclave.[1] Although not a formal requirement, the cardinal electors invariably elected the pope from among their number. The election was carried out by secret ballot (Latin: per scrutinium).[1]

Photograph of Pope Benedict XVI
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI by the conclave on 19 April 2005.

Of the 183 members of the College of Cardinals at the time of John Paul II's death, there were 117 cardinal electors who were eligible to participate in the subsequent conclave.[2] Two cardinal electors did not participate, decreasing the number in attendance to 115.[3][4] The number of votes required to be elected pope with a two-thirds supermajority was 77, or (only in the event of a protracted deadlock) a simple majority of 58.[1]

Of the 115 attending cardinal electors, 5 were cardinal bishops, 93 were cardinal priests, and 17 were cardinal deacons; 2 had been created cardinals by Pope Paul VI and 113 by Pope John Paul II; 24 worked in the service of the Holy See (such as in the Roman Curia), 73 were in pastoral ministry outside Rome, and 18 had retired. The oldest cardinal elector in the conclave was Marco Cé, at the age of 79,[5] and the youngest was Péter Erdő, at the age of 52.[6] Another 66 cardinals were ineligible to participate in the conclave, for reasons of age.[2]

The cardinal electors entered the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave on 18 April 2005.[7] On 19 April, after four ballots over two days, they elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who took the papal name Benedict XVI.[8]

Cardinal electors

The College of Cardinals is divided into three orders: cardinal bishops (CB), cardinal priests (CP) and cardinal deacons (CD), with precedence in that sequence. This is the order in which the cardinal electors process into the conclave, take the oath and cast their ballots.[1] For cardinal bishops, except the Eastern Catholic patriarchs, the dean is first in precedence, followed by the vice-dean and then by the rest in order of appointment as cardinal bishops. For cardinal bishops who are Eastern Catholic patriarchs, for cardinal priests and for cardinal deacons, precedence is determined by the date of the consistory in which they were created cardinals and then by the order in which they appeared in the official announcement or bulletin.[4]

Three of the cardinal electors were from the Eastern Catholic Churches: Ignace Moussa I Daoud (Syriac), Varkey Vithayathil (Syro-Malabar) and Lubomyr Husar (Ukrainian). The senior cardinal bishop, the senior cardinal priest, the senior cardinal deacon and the junior cardinal deacon, who were assigned specific roles in the conclave, such as presiding over the conclave itself (the senior cardinal bishop) or announcing the election of the pope (the senior cardinal deacon),[1] were, respectively, Joseph Ratzinger, William Wakefield Baum, Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez and Attilio Nicora.[4] The camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who was in charge of administering the Holy See during its vacancy, was Eduardo Martínez Somalo.[1][9]

The data below are as of 2 April 2005, the date on which the Holy See became vacant. All cardinals are of the Latin Church unless otherwise stated. Cardinals belonging to institutes of consecrated life or to societies of apostolic life are indicated by the relevant post-nominal letters.

* Elected pope
RankNameCountryBornOrderConsistoryOfficeRef.
1Joseph Ratzinger*Germany16 April 1927
(age 77)
CB27 June 1977
Paul VI
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Dean)[10]
2Angelo SodanoItaly23 November 1927
(age 77)
CB28 June 1991
John Paul II
Secretary of State (Vice-Dean)[11]
3Alfonso López TrujilloColombia8 November 1935
(age 69)
CB2 February 1983
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Council for the Family[12]
4Giovanni Battista ReItaly30 January 1934
(age 71)
CB21 February 2001
John Paul II
Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops[13]
5Ignace Moussa I DaoudSyria18 September 1930
(age 74)
CB21 February 2001
John Paul II
Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
(Syriac Church)
[14]
6William Wakefield BaumUnited States21 November 1926
(age 78)
CP24 May 1976
Paul VI
Major Penitentiary emeritus[15]
7Marco CéItaly8 July 1925
(age 79)
CP30 June 1979
John Paul II
Patriarch emeritus of Venice[5]
8Franciszek MacharskiPoland20 May 1927
(age 77)
CP30 June 1979
John Paul II
Archbishop of Kraków[16]
9Michael Michai KitbunchuThailand25 January 1929
(age 76)
CP2 February 1983
John Paul II
Archbishop of Bangkok[17]
10Godfried DanneelsBelgium4 June 1933
(age 71)
CP2 February 1983
John Paul II
Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels[18]
11Thomas Stafford WilliamsNew Zealand20 March 1930
(age 75)
CP2 February 1983
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Wellington[19]
12Carlo Maria Martini SJItaly15 February 1927
(age 78)
CP2 February 1983
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Milan[20]
13Jean-Marie LustigerFrance17 September 1926
(age 78)
CP2 February 1983
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Paris[21]
14Józef GlempPoland18 December 1929
(age 75)
CP2 February 1983
John Paul II
Archbishop of Warsaw[22]
15Joachim MeisnerGermany25 December 1933
(age 71)
CP2 February 1983
John Paul II
Archbishop of Cologne[23]
16Francis ArinzeNigeria1 November 1932
(age 72)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments[24]
17Miguel Obando Bravo SDBNicaragua2 February 1926
(age 79)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Managua[25]
18Ricardo Jamin VidalPhilippines6 February 1931
(age 74)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
Archbishop of Cebu[26]
19Paul PoupardFrance30 August 1930
(age 74)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Council for Culture[27]
20Friedrich WetterGermany20 February 1928
(age 77)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
Archbishop of Munich and Freising[28]
21Adrianus Johannes SimonisNetherlands26 November 1931
(age 73)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
Archbishop of Utrecht[29]
22Bernard Francis LawUnited States4 November 1931
(age 73)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major[30]
23Giacomo BiffiItaly13 June 1928
(age 76)
CP25 May 1985
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Bologna[31]
24Eduardo Martínez SomaloSpain31 March 1927
(age 78)
CP28 June 1988
John Paul II
Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church[9]
25José Freire FalcãoBrazil23 October 1925
(age 79)
CP28 June 1988
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Brasília[32]
26Michele GiordanoItaly22 September 1930
(age 74)
CP28 June 1988
John Paul II
Archbishop of Naples[33]
27Edmund Casimir SzokaUnited States14 September 1927
(age 77)
CP28 June 1988
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State[34]
28László Paskai OFMHungary8 May 1927
(age 77)
CP28 June 1988
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Esztergom–Budapest[35]
29Christian Wiyghan TumiCameroon15 October 1930
(age 74)
CP28 June 1988
John Paul II
Archbishop of Douala[36]
30Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi CICMDemocratic Republic of the Congo3 December 1930
(age 74)
CP28 June 1991
John Paul II
Archbishop of Kinshasa[37]
31Nicolás de Jesús López RodríguezDominican Republic31 October 1936
(age 68)
CP28 June 1991
John Paul II
Archbishop of Santo Domingo[38]
32Roger Michael MahonyUnited States27 February 1936
(age 69)
CP28 June 1991
John Paul II
Archbishop of Los Angeles[39]
33Camillo RuiniItaly19 February 1931
(age 74)
CP28 June 1991
John Paul II
Vicar General for Rome and Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran[40]
34Henri SchwerySwitzerland14 June 1932
(age 72)
CP28 June 1991
John Paul II
Bishop emeritus of Sion[41]
35Georg Maximilian SterzinskyGermany9 February 1936
(age 69)
CP28 June 1991
John Paul II
Archbishop of Berlin[42]
36Miloslav VlkCzech Republic17 May 1932
(age 72)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Prague[43]
37Peter Seiichi ShirayanagiJapan17 June 1928
(age 76)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Tokyo[44]
38Julius Darmaatmadja SJIndonesia20 December 1934
(age 70)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Jakarta[45]
39Jaime Lucas Ortega y AlaminoCuba18 October 1936
(age 68)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of San Cristóbal de la Habana[46]
40Emmanuel WamalaUganda15 December 1926
(age 78)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Kampala[47]
41William Henry KeelerUnited States4 March 1931
(age 74)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Baltimore[48]
42Jean-Claude TurcotteCanada26 June 1936
(age 68)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Montreal[49]
43Ricardo María Carles GordóSpain24 September 1926
(age 78)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Barcelona[50]
44Adam Joseph MaidaUnited States18 March 1930
(age 75)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Detroit[51]
45Vinko PuljićBosnia and Herzegovina8 September 1945
(age 59)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Vrhbosna[52]
46Armand Gaetan RazafindratandraMadagascar7 August 1925
(age 79)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Antananarivo[53]
47Juan Sandoval ÍñiguezMexico28 March 1933
(age 72)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop of Guadalajara[54]
48Salvatore De GiorgiItaly6 September 1930
(age 74)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Palermo[55]
49Antonio María Rouco VarelaSpain20 August 1936
(age 68)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Madrid[56]
50Aloysius Matthew AmbrozicCanada27 January 1930
(age 75)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Toronto[57]
51Dionigi TettamanziItaly14 March 1934
(age 71)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Milan[58]
52Polycarp PengoTanzania5 August 1944
(age 60)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam[59]
53Christoph Schönborn OPAustria22 January 1945
(age 60)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Vienna[60]
54Norberto Rivera CarreraMexico6 June 1942
(age 62)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Mexico[61]
55Francis Eugene George OMIUnited States16 January 1937
(age 68)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Chicago[62]
56Marian JaworskiPoland[a]21 August 1926
(age 78)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Lviv[63]
57Jānis PujatsLatvia14 November 1930
(age 74)
CP21 February 1998
John Paul II
Archbishop of Riga[64]
58Ivan DiasIndia14 April 1936
(age 68)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Bombay[65]
59Geraldo Majella AgneloBrazil19 October 1933
(age 71)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia[66]
60Pedro Rubiano SáenzColombia13 September 1932
(age 72)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Bogotá[67]
61Theodore Edgar McCarrickUnited States7 July 1930
(age 74)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Washington[68]
62Desmond ConnellIreland24 March 1926
(age 79)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Dublin[69]
63Audrys Juozas BačkisLithuania1 February 1937
(age 68)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Vilnius[70]
64Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa ISchChile5 September 1933
(age 71)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Santiago de Chile[71]
65Julio Terrazas Sandoval CSsRBolivia7 March 1936
(age 69)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra[72]
66Wilfrid Fox Napier OFMSouth Africa8 March 1941
(age 64)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Durban[73]
67Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga SDBHonduras29 December 1942
(age 62)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Tegucigalpa[74]
68Bernard AgréIvory Coast2 March 1926
(age 79)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Abidjan[75]
69Juan Luis Cipriani ThornePeru28 December 1943
(age 61)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Lima[76]
70Francisco Álvarez MartínezSpain14 July 1925
(age 79)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of Toledo[77]
71Cláudio Hummes OFMBrazil8 August 1934
(age 70)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of São Paulo[78]
72Varkey Vithayathil CSsRIndia29 May 1927
(age 77)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Major Archbishop of Ernakulam–Angamaly
(Syro-Malabar Church)
[79]
73Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJArgentina17 December 1936
(age 68)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Buenos Aires[80]
74José da Cruz PolicarpoPortugal26 February 1936
(age 69)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Patriarch of Lisbon[81]
75Severino PolettoItaly18 March 1933
(age 72)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Turin[82]
76Cormac Murphy-O'ConnorUnited Kingdom24 August 1932
(age 72)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of Westminster[83]
77Edward Michael EganUnited States2 April 1932
(age 73)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Archbishop of New York[84]
78Lubomyr Husar MSUUkraine26 February 1933
(age 72)
CP21 February 2001
John Paul II
Major Archbishop of Kyiv–Galicia
(Ukrainian Greek Church)
[85]
79Karl LehmannGermany16 May 1936
(age 68)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Bishop of Mainz[86]
80Angelo ScolaItaly7 November 1941
(age 63)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Patriarch of Venice[87]
81Anthony Olubunmi OkogieNigeria16 June 1936
(age 68)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Lagos[88]
82Bernard PanafieuFrance26 January 1931
(age 74)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Marseille[89]
83Gabriel Zubeir WakoSudan27 February 1941
(age 64)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Khartoum[90]
84Carlos Amigo Vallejo OFMSpain23 August 1934
(age 70)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Seville[91]
85Justin Francis RigaliUnited States19 April 1935
(age 69)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Philadelphia[92]
86Keith Michael Patrick O'BrienUnited Kingdom17 March 1938
(age 67)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh[93]
87Eusébio Oscar Scheid SCIBrazil8 December 1932
(age 72)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro[94]
88Ennio AntonelliItaly18 November 1936
(age 68)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Florence[95]
89Tarcisio Bertone SDBItaly2 December 1934
(age 70)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Genoa[96]
90Peter Kodwo Appiah TurksonGhana11 October 1948
(age 56)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Cape Coast[97]
91Telesphore Placidus ToppoIndia15 October 1939
(age 65)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Ranchi[98]
92George PellAustralia8 June 1941
(age 63)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Sydney[99]
93Josip BozanićCroatia20 March 1949
(age 56)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Zagreb[100]
94Jean-Baptiste Phạm Minh MẫnVietnam5 March 1934
(age 71)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City[101]
95Rodolfo Quezada ToruñoGuatemala8 March 1932
(age 73)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Guatemala[102]
96Philippe BarbarinFrance17 October 1950
(age 54)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Lyon[103]
97Péter ErdőHungary25 June 1952
(age 52)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Esztergom–Budapest[6]
98Marc Ouellet PSSCanada8 June 1944
(age 60)
CP21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archbishop of Quebec[104]
99Jorge Arturo Medina EstévezChile23 December 1926
(age 78)
CD21 February 1998
John Paul II
Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (Protodeacon)[105]
100Darío Castrillón HoyosColombia4 July 1929
(age 75)
CD21 February 1998
John Paul II
Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei[106]
101James Francis StaffordUnited States26 July 1932
(age 72)
CD21 February 1998
John Paul II
Major Penitentiary[107]
102Agostino CacciavillanItaly14 August 1926
(age 78)
CD21 February 2001
John Paul II
President emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See[108]
103Sergio SebastianiItaly11 April 1931
(age 73)
CD21 February 2001
John Paul II
President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See[109]
104Zenon GrocholewskiPoland11 October 1939
(age 65)
CD21 February 2001
John Paul II
Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education[110]
105José Saraiva Martins CMFPortugal6 January 1932
(age 73)
CD21 February 2001
John Paul II
Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints[111]
106Crescenzio SepeItaly2 June 1943
(age 61)
CD21 February 2001
John Paul II
Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples[112]
107Mario Francesco PompeddaItaly18 April 1929
(age 75)
CD21 February 2001
John Paul II
Prefect emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura[113]
108Walter KasperGermany5 March 1933
(age 72)
CD21 February 2001
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity[114]
109Jean-Louis TauranFrance5 April 1943
(age 61)
CD21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church[115]
110Renato Raffaele MartinoItaly23 November 1932
(age 72)
CD21 October 2003
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace[116]
111Francesco MarchisanoItaly25 June 1929
(age 75)
CD21 October 2003
John Paul II
Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter and President of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See[117]
112Julián Herranz CasadoSpain31 March 1930
(age 75)
CD21 October 2003
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts[118]
113Javier Lozano BarragánMexico26 January 1933
(age 72)
CD21 October 2003
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers[119]
114Stephen Fumio HamaoJapan9 March 1930
(age 75)
CD21 October 2003
John Paul II
President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People[120]
115Attilio NicoraItaly16 March 1937
(age 68)
CD21 October 2003
John Paul II
President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See[121]

Not in attendance

RankNameCountryBornOrderConsistoryOfficeReason for absenceRef.
1Jaime Lachica SinPhilippines31 August 1928
(age 76)
CP24 May 1976
Paul VI
Archbishop emeritus of ManilaHealth (illness)[122]
2Adolfo Antonio Suárez RiveraMexico9 January 1927
(age 78)
CP26 November 1994
John Paul II
Archbishop emeritus of MonterreyHealth (illness)[123]

Cardinal electors by continent and by country

The 115 attending cardinal electors were from 52 countries on all six inhabited continents. The countries with the greatest number of cardinal electors were Italy (twenty), the United States (eleven) and, jointly, Germany and Spain (six each).

Choropleth map indicating the number of cardinal electors in attendance from each country (unnumbered countries denote one cardinal elector)[b]
* Continent/country of elected pope
Cardinal electors by continent
ContinentNumberPercentage
Africa119.6%
North America2219.1%
South America1210.4%
Asia108.7%
Europe*5850.4%
Oceania21.7%
Total115100.0%
Cardinal electors by country
CountryContinentNumber
ArgentinaSouth America1
AustraliaOceania1
AustriaEurope1
BelgiumEurope1
BoliviaSouth America1
Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope1
BrazilSouth America4
CameroonAfrica1
CanadaNorth America3
ChileSouth America2
ColombiaSouth America3
Democratic Republic of the CongoAfrica1
CroatiaEurope1
CubaNorth America1
Czech RepublicEurope1
Dominican RepublicNorth America1
FranceEurope5
Germany*Europe6
GhanaAfrica1
GuatemalaNorth America1
HondurasNorth America1
HungaryEurope2
IndiaAsia3
IndonesiaAsia1
IrelandEurope1
ItalyEurope20
Ivory CoastAfrica1
JapanAsia2
LatviaEurope1
LithuaniaEurope1
MadagascarAfrica1
MexicoNorth America3
NetherlandsEurope1
New ZealandOceania1
NicaraguaNorth America1
NigeriaAfrica2
PeruSouth America1
PhilippinesAsia1
PolandEurope4
PortugalEurope2
South AfricaAfrica1
SpainEurope6
SudanAfrica1
SwitzerlandEurope1
SyriaAsia1
TanzaniaAfrica1
ThailandAsia1
UgandaAfrica1
UkraineEurope1
United KingdomEurope2
United StatesNorth America11
VietnamAsia1
Total115

See also

Notes

References