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Pope Names 20 New Cardinals


Pope Francis speaks during the Angelus noon prayer from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's square at the Vatican, Jan. 4, 2015.
Pope Francis speaks during the Angelus noon prayer from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's square at the Vatican, Jan. 4, 2015.

Pope Francis has named 20 new cardinals, selecting them from 14 countries, including many from Latin America and Africa.

The new cardinals include African church leaders from Ethiopia and Cape Verde. Others appointed hailed from Asia (Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand), Latin America (Mexico, Uruguay, Panama, Argentina, Colombia), the South Pacific (New Zealand and Tonga) and Europe (Spain and Italy).

Fifteen of the newly appointed cardinals are under the age of 80 making them eligible to join the conclave which will choose the next pope.

The pope said the five new cardinals over 80 were given the title to thank them for long years of service to the church.

Some information for this report came from AP, AFP and Reuters.

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