Pope Benedict on Wednesday named 15 new cardinals, saying they would be formally given their distinctive red hats at a ceremony in Rome on March 24.
Among the new 'princes' of the church were 12 prelates who, being under the age of 80, have the right to take part in the secret meetings, or conclaves, that elect pontiffs when a pope dies.
The March ceremony to elevate the new cardinals will be the first such 'consistory' under Benedict, who was elected to succeed John Paul II last April. It will take the number of cardinal 'electors' to 120, the limit set by Pope Paul VI in 1973.
Vatican-watchers said there were few surprises on the list of names.
As expected, there was a red hat for Poland's Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul's private secretary and now archbishop of Krakow, and also for Monsignor William Levada, the American who replaced Benedict as head of the Vatican's doctrinal department.
One appointment which drew attention was that of Zen Ze Kiun, the archbishop of Hong Kong. One of the most outspoken voices in the Chinese Catholic Church, Zen Ze Kiun has criticised Beijing over its human rights record.
The potentially sensitive move came despite the Vatican's desire to improve the situation of Catholics in
China, where believers are not allowed to pledge final allegiance to the pope.The inclusion of the archbishop of Boston, Sean O'Malley, on the list was seen by some observers as significant. He replaced Cardinal Bernard Law, who was forced to reign amid the child sex abuse scandal that hit the US Church in 2003.
As is usual, the pope gave no clues as to the reasons for his choices.
"Cardinals have the task of sustaining and helping (the pope) carry out the apostolic office entrusted to him,"
Benedict said as he read out the names during a genera audience in the Vatican. "Cardinals constitute a sort of Senate around the pope," he added.
Eight of the new papal advisors came from Europe, three from America, three from Asia and one from Africa.
One of the few new cardinals to comment on their appointment on Wednesday was Archbishop Dziwisz of Krakow. He said he learned the news with "humility" and added that John Paul II's heritage was a factor in Benedict's decision
The full list of new cardinals is as follows:
Cardinal Electors
*Archbishop William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (United States);
*Archbishop Franc Rode, Prefect of the Congregation for Religious Orders (Slovenia);
*Archbishop Agostino Vallini, Prefect of the Apostolic Segnatura (Italy);
*Archbishop Jorge Savino of Caracas (Venezuela);
*Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales of Manila (the Philippines);
*Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux (France);
*Archbishop Antonio Canizares Llovera of Toledo (Spain);
*Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul (South Korea);
*Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston (United States);
*Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow (Poland);
*Archbishop Carlo Caffarra, Bologna (Italy);
*Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong (China).
Cardinals over 80
*Archpriest Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (Italy);
*Archbishop Peter Poreku Dery of Tamale (Ghana);
*Albert Vanhoye, former rector of the Pontifical
Library (France).
