Archbishop Roche and other new Cardinals

[keitha]

After todays Regina Caeli Pope Francis announced the creation of new Cardinals (to be created at a Consistory in August). As expected, Archbishop Arthur Roche was included in the list. I could be wrong, but I think that will be the first time there have been two voting English Cardinals since 1914 to 1929 (Cardinals Bourne & Gasquet) and the first time ever that there have been 3 English Cardinals (Cardinals Nichols, Fitzgerald and Roche).

[Southern Comfort]

The most recent time when there were two English cardinals eligible to vote was the period 1959-1973, when, firstly, Cardinals Godfrey and Heard were both alive and eligible. In fact Godfrey was appointed cardinal just too late to elect John XXIII and died not long before Paul VI was elected, but William Heard was one of Paul VI's electors. (Few have heard of him because he spent most of his life in Rome.) After Godfrey died in 1963, Heard was the only English cardinal still alive. When John Carmel Heenan was appointed cardinal in 1965, there were once again two English cardinals eligible to elect until Heard died in 1973 at the age of 89, since the change to ending eligibility at the age of 80 was only introduced in 1975.

In an earlier era, although technically Spanish, Cardinal Merry del Val had been born and brought up in England, and was cardinal during the time of Bourne and Gasquet.

[keitha]

Thanks SC. I had heard of Cardinal Heard, but I thought that he was a Scotsman - I recollect news headlines around the time of his death claiming him for Scotland! I see, however, that he was ordained in England and served in an English diocese before being moved to the Curia.

[Southern Comfort]

Yes, born in Scotland, but received into the Church at Farm Street in London, rejected for ordination by St Andrew's and Edinburgh but accepted by Southwark.

Visitors to the Venerable English College in Rome are often intrigued to see his portrait in the Cardinals' Gallery as they have never heard of him.

[alan29]

And in the C19th - according to the Wikipedia list of English Cardinals Manning, Howard and Newman 1879-1890.
For a country with a small Catholic population we do seem to have more than our fair share of cardinals.
NB, I do like it that the parish newsletter of St Vincent de Paul Liverpool refers to Cardinal Michael among it's clergy. I wonder if he takes precedence over the Archbishop of that city?