VATICAN CITY, FEB. 21, 2001 (Zenit.org).- Italian Cardinal Corrado Bafile has a special privilege. He is the Church´s oldest cardinal. On July 4, 2003, God willing, he will celebrate his 100th birthday.
Cardinal Bafile is followed by Austrian Cardinal Franz König, who will be 96 this year, the last cardinal created by John XXIII. Cardinal König continues writing articles and speaking out publicly on topics to which he has dedicated his life: the promotion of Christian unity, and the implementation of the Second Vatican Council, in which he took an active part.
At the other end of the age scale is Archbishop Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, Bosnia, a youthful looking 55-year-old who is the youngest cardinal. He is followed by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Austria (who just turned 56), Cardinal Polycarp Pengo of Tanzania (56), and Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, archbishop of Lima, Peru (57).
Thirty-five of the new cardinals are religious clergy, the rest diocesan. The most numerous among the religious are the Jesuits (8), followed by the Franciscan Friars Minor (6), and the Salesians (6). There are two Cardinals who belong to the religious families of the Dominicans, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut missionaries), and Redemptorists.
The remaining orders and congregations with only one cardinal are the Marists, Sulpicians, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Claretians, Lazarists, the Institute of Fathers of Schoenstatt, and the Studite Monks. As of today, there is also a cardinal from the Opus Dei personal prelature.
The dean of the College of Cardinals is an African, Benin Cardinal Bernardin Gantin. The vice dean is German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, while the cardinal chamberlain, who administers Church property when the See of Peter is vacant, is Spanish Cardinal Eduardo Martínez Somalo.
Of the 184 cardinals, 160 were created by John Paul II. Of them, 125 are still electors.
