Pope Francis has chosen 21 new cardinals in a move that once again shows his determination to reshape the group of churchmen who will elect his successor.

The new cardinals will get their red hats at a ceremony, known as a consistory, on Dec. 8, an important feast day on its own that officially kicks off the Christmas season in Rome.

The appointments cement Francis’ imprint on the group that will choose his successor, and reflect his vision of a more truly global Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor.

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals on December 8, 20 of whom can vote for a new pope. Among them are Frank Leo, archbishop of Toronto, and Timothy Radcliffe, former master of the Dominicans.

The last consistory to create new cardinals took place on Sept. 30, 2023. The new cardinals included Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong; and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Among those named by history’s first Latin American pope were the heads of several major dioceses and archdioceses in South America.

The pope named the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Australia, Bishop Mykola Bychok, in recognition of the ongoing war in Ukraine. View on euronews

The Archbishop of Toronto is among 21 new cardinals Pope Francis named Sunday and the lone new cardinal from North America.

Pope Francis will appoint 21 new cardinals from around the world, he announced on Sunday, in an unexpected push to influence the powerful group of churchmen that will one day choose his successor.