CARDINAL, in the Roman Church, the title of the highest dignitaries next to the pope. The cardinals constitute the council or senate of the sovereign pontiff in the government of the Church; they constitute a spiritual body called the Sacred College, act as administrators of the Church during a vacancy of the Holy See and elect the new pope. Their present position is the result, by a long process of evolution, of the association and co-operation with the pope of the chief clergy of Rome.
It was also used, however, until late in the Middle Ages for the leading clergy of the more important churches; but the title was gradually confined by usage to the Roman cardinals, until Pius V. in 1567 reserved it to them exclusively.
The Sacred College.—The grouping of the cardinals into a body, the College of Cardinals, is connected, in the case at least of cardinal priests, with the ancient presbyterium, which existed in each church from the earliest times. The Sacred College as such was not, however, definitively constituted until the uniting of the three orders of cardinals into a single body, the body which was to elect the pope; and this only took place in the 12th cen tury. Up till that time the elements remained distinct, and there were separate classes : the "Roman" bishops, i.e., bishops of sees near Rome, presbyters of the tituli of Rome, and deacons of the Roman Church. Nowadays, the Sacred College is still composed of three orders: cardinal bishops, cardinal priests and cardinal deacons. But the process of evolution has not been the same in the case of all these orders.
Cardinal bishops are the bishops of suburbicarian churches, situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Rome. Very early we find them assisting the pope in his ritual functions and in deal ing with important business ; they formed a kind of permanent synod (cf. the vuvobos of Constantinople) ; and they also took the place of the pope in the ceremonies of the liturgy, except the most important ones, and especially in the service of the cathedral at Rome. the Lateran. The life of Stephen III. in the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, i. p. 478) states that he ordered solemn Mass to be said every Sunday on St. Peter's altar in the Lateran Church, a septem Episcopis cardina libus hebdomadariis, qui in ecclesia Salvatoris observant. In io58 they were called "cardinal bishops of the Lateran church" (St. Peter Damian, Ep. 1, lib. ii.). Their sees are the same to-day as they were then: Ostia, Porto, Santa Rufina (Sylva Candida), Al bano, Sabina, Tusculum (Frascati) and Palestrina. From time immemorial the bishop of Ostia has had the right of wearing the "pallium" at the consecration of a pope who was not already a bishop ; he is ex officio dean of the suburbicarian bishops, and con sequently dean of the Sacred College. His see has been, since the 12th century, entitled Ostia and Velletri. The bishop of Porto is ex officio vice-dean of the Sacred College ; his see was united by Calixtus II. to that of Santa Rufina, thus reducing the number of suburbicarian bishoprics and cardinal bishops to six; this number was confirmed by Sixtus V., and has not varied since.
The second order of cardinals is that of the cardinal priests. It represents and is a continuation of the ancient presbyterium; but in Rome the process of evolution was different from that in the other episcopal towns. In the latter, the division into parishes was but slowly accomplished; the bishop with the higher clergy, forming what became the chapter, were in residence at the cathe dral, which was strictly the one parish church in the town. At Rome, on the contrary (and doubtless at Alexandria), certain churches, to which were attached certain districts, were at an early date entrusted to one or more priests. These churches, in which the sacraments of baptism and penance were administered, were called tituli (titles). According to the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, i. pp. 122, 126, 164), the titles of Rome, numbering twenty-five, were already established as early as the 1st century; this seems hardly probable, but it was certainly the case in the 5th century. The priest (or the principal priest of two or more attached to the same church) serving one of these churches was the presbyter cardinalis of that title. Thus the Roman presby terium did not give rise to a cathedral chapter, but to cardinal priests, each attached to his title. As the higher clergy of Rome gradually acquired a more important status, the relations between the cardinal priest and the church of which he bore the title be came more and more nominal; but they have never entirely ceased. Even to-day every cardinal priest has his title, a church in Rome of which he is the spiritual head, and the name of which appears in his official signature, e.g. "Herbertus tituli sanctorum Andreae et Gregorii sanctae romanae ecclesiae presbyter cardi nalis Vaughan." When the attachment of the cardinal priest to his title had become no more than a tradition, the number of cardinal titles, which in the 1 rth century had reached twenty eight, was increased according to need, and it was held an honour for a church to be made titulary. To-day the cardinal titles num ber fifty-three ; since the number of cardinal priests never exceeds fifty, there are always a certain number of vacant titles.
Cardinals resident in Rome enjoy what is known as ius options; that is to say, when a cardinalitial office is vacant, the cardinal next in seniority can claim promotion to it ; cardinal deacons can pass in this way of ter ten years to the order of priests.
Cardinal bishops must naturally be bishops ; for cardinal priests it is enough to have received the priesthood, though many of them are actually bishops; similarly, it is enough for cardinal deacons to have received the diaconate, though most of them are priests.
The cardinal camerlengo or chamberlain (camerarius) is chosen by the pope from among the Sacred College and entrusted with the administration of the common property. His office is impor tant, for during the vacancy of the Holy See he exercises all external authority, especially that connected with the Conclave.
The number of cardinals was fixed by Sixtus V. (1 S86) at 7o: six cardinal bishops, fifty cardinal priests and fourteen cardinal deacons ; but the Sacred College never reaches its full number, and there are always ten or so "vacant hats," as the saying goes. The rule laid down by Sixtus V. has not been modified since, but before his time the number of cardinals varied considerably. In John XXII. said that there were twenty cardinals; in 1378 they were reckoned at 23. Their number increased during the Great Schism because there were several rival obediences. The councils of Constance and Basel reduced the number of cardinals to 24; but in the i6th century that number was more than doubled. In 1517 Leo X., to secure a majority in the Sacred Col lege, created 31 cardinals at once. The highest number was reached under Pius IV., when the cardinals numbered 76.
The Sacred College was originally composed, as we have seen, of members of the Roman clergy exclusively; but as early as the 11th century cases are found in which the pope summoned to its ranks persons who did not belong to the Roman church, particu larly abbots, who were not even required to give up the direction of their monasteries. In the following century occur a few cases of bishops Leing created cardinals without having to leave their see, and of cardinals upon whom were conferred foreign bishoprics (cf. Thomassin, Vetus et nova discipl. vol. I. lib. ii. cap. 114, n. 9). Most of the cardinals created by the Avignon popes were French, and in 1331 John XXII. remarks that 17 of the then exist ing zo cardinals were French. The councils of Constance and Basel forbade that more than a third of the cardinals should be long to the same country. After the end of the Great Schism, the ancient customs were soon resumed; the cardinals were for the most part Italians, the non-Italian cardinals only amounting to a minority. The latter, with rare exceptions, are not resident in Rome ; together with the rank of cardinal they receive a dispensa tion from residing in curia.
The reform of the College of Cardinals inaugurated by the councils of Constance and Basel, though without much immediate success, was not only concerned with the number and nationality of the cardinals; it also dealt with conditions of age, learning and other qualifications : men of the most honourable character, aged not less than thirty, were to be chosen ; at least a third were to be chosen from among the graduates of the universities; persons of royal blood and princes were not to be admitted in too great num bers, and lastly, relatives of the pope were to be set aside. More over, in order to secure the effectiveness of these reforms, selec tion of the new cardinals was to be made by the votes of the members of the Sacred College given in writing. This mode of control was perhaps excessive, and the reform consequently re mained ineffective. Up to the middle of the i6th century there were still instances of unfortunate and even scandalous appoint ments to the cardinalate of very young men, of relatives or favour ites of the popes and of men whose qualifications were by no means ecclesiastical. But a real reform was at last effected by the council of Trent, and carried further by Sixtus V., whose regula tions are still in force : a cardinal must, in the year of his promo tion, be of the canonical age required for his reception into the order demanded by his rank, i.e. 22 for the diaconate, 23 for the priesthood and 3o for the episcopate, and if not already ordained he must take orders in the year of his appointment. Men of ille gitimate birth are excluded, as well as near relatives of the pope (with one exception) and of the cardinals ; the personal qualities to be most sought for are learning, holiness and an honourable life. All these recommendations have been, on the whole, well observed, and are so better than ever in the present day. We may add that the mendicant orders have been represented, under the regulations of Sixtus V., by at least four theologians. The cardi nals' hats granted at the request of the heads of Catholic states are subject to negotiations analogous to those concerning nomina tions to the episcopate, though entailing no concordatory agree ment, strictly speaking, on the part of the popes.
Creation.—The creation of cardinals (to use the official term) is in fact nowadays the function of the pope alone. It is accom plished by the publication of the persons chosen by the pope in secret consistory (q.v.) . No other formality is essential; the provision of Eugenius IV., requiring the reception of insignia for promotion to be valid, was annulled by Pius V. in 1571. Similarly neither the consent nor the vote of the Sacred College is required. The injunctions of the councils of Constance and Basel as to the written vote of the cardinals became before very long a dead let ter, but there still remains a relic of them. In the consistory, when the pope has nominated those whom he desires to raise to the purple, he puts to the cardinals present the question : "Quid vobis videtur?" The cardinals bend the head as a sign of their con sent, and the pope then continues : "Itaque, auctoritate omni potentis Dei, sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et Nostra, creamus et publicamus sanctae romanae Ecclesiae cardinales N. et N., etc." The new dignitary, who has been warned of his nomination several weeks in advance by "biglietto" (note) from the office of the secretary of state, is then officially informed of it by a cere moniarius of the pope ; he at once waits upon the pope, to whom he is presented by one of the cardinals. The pope invests him with the rocket and red biretta, but there is no formal ceremony. The conferring of the cardinal's red hat takes place a few days later in a public consistory ; while placing the hat on his head the pope pronounces the following words : "Ad laudem omnipotentis Dei et Sanctae Sedis ornamentum, accipe galerum rubrum, insigne singu laris dignitatis cardinalatus, per quod designator quod usque ad rnortem et sanguinis effusionem inclusive pro exaltatione sanctae fidei, pace et quiete populi christiani, augmento et statu sacro sanctae romanae Ecclesiae, to intrepidum exhibere debeas, in nom ine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti." While pronouncing the last words the pope makes the sign of the cross three times over the new cardinal. The public consistory is immediately followed by a secret consistory, to accomplish the last ceremonies. The pope begins by closing the mouth of the new cardinal, as a symbol of the discretion he should observe; after this he bestows on him the cardinal's ring, assigns him a title or diaconia; and finally, after going through the formality of consulting the Sacred College, finishes with the symbolic ceremony of the opening of the mouth, signifying the right and duty of the new cardinal to express his opinion and vote in the matters which it will fall to him to consider.
When the new cardinal is resident abroad and appointed at the request of the head of his state, a member of the Noble Guard is sent on the day of the consistory to give him the cardinal's "calotte"; after a few days the red biretta is brought by a Roman prelate, and is conferred on him with great pomp by the head of the state. But the conferring of the red hat always takes place at the hands of the pope in a public consistory.
Sometimes the pope announces the creation of cardinals whose flames he does not divulge, hut reserves the right of publishing at a later date. These cardinals, whose names he conceals "in his breast," are for that reason called cardinals in petto. This prac tice seems to go back to Martin V., who may have used this ex pedient to avoid the necessity of soliciting the votes of the car dinals ; but for a long time past the popes have resorted to it for quite other reasons. If the pope dies before making known the cardinals in petto, the promotion is void; if he publishes them, they take rank from the day of the first announcement. In March 1875 Pius IX. announced the creation of several cardinals in petto, whose names would be given in his will. It was pointed out to him that this posthumous publication would not be a pontifical act, and ran the risk of being declared invalid; and he published the names in a subsequent consistory (Sept. i7).
The dignity of the cardinals is a participation in that of the sovereign pontiff, and as such places them above all other eccle siastical dignitaries. This rank was first attributed to the cardinal bishops, and afterwards claimed by the rest. Their common pre rogative was definitively established when they became the sole electors of the pope, at a period when the papacy, under pontiffs like Innocent III., shone with its most brilliant lustre. For example, at the council of Lyons in 1245 all the cardinals took precedence of the archbishops and bishops. It was in 1245, or perhaps the year before, that Innocent IV. granted the cardinals the privilege of wearing the red hat ; the scarlet robe, which still forms their costume of ceremony, was already worn by cardinals performing the functions of legate ; and the use was soon extended to all. As to their civil relations, cardinals were assimilated by the Catholic kings to the rank of princes of the blood royal. They were granted the official style of Eminence by Urban VIII. .
The most lofty function of the cardinals is the election of the pope (see CONCLAVE). But this function is necessarily intermit tent, and they have many others to fulfil sede plena. On those rare occasions on which the pope officiates in person, they carry out, according to their respective orders, their former functions in the ritual. But they are, above all, the assistants of the pope in the administration of the Church ; they fill certain permanent offices, such as those of chancellor, penitentiary, etc. ; or again, temporary missions, such as that of legate a latere; they have seats in the councils and tribunals which deal with the affairs of the Church, and the Roman congregations of cardinals (see CURIA