Pope extends terms of elderly dean, subdean of College of Cardinals

February 06, 2025

Pope Francis has extended the terms of the dean and subdean of the College of Cardinals, despite their advanced age.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College, is 91. Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the subdean, is 81. Both had been elected for 5-year terms that had expired in January. The Vatican announced on February 6 that the Pope had “extended his approval,” without indicating the duration of that extension.

The dean and subdean of the College of Cardinals exercise mostly ceremonial roles. However the dean becomes a very prominent public figure after the death of a Pope, since he presides at the Pontiff’s funeral.

Neither Cardinal Re nor Cardinal Sandri will participate in a papal election, since cardinals above the age of 80 are ineligible to sit in a conclave. However, if the Pope had not extended Cardinal Re’s term, and a younger dean had been chosen, his title would have given him greater importance in the conclave. Vatican-watchers had speculated that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, might be elected the new dean to replace Cardinal Re. In that post Cardinal Parolin would have been the most prominent prelate entering the conclave, and probably regarded as the front-runner among the candidates to become the next Pontiff.

The dean of the College is traditionally elected by the senior cardinals who hold the ceremonial rank of “cardinal-bishop.” There are currently thirteen cardinals with that title, including two patriarchs of Eastern Catholic churches. Among them only five are under the 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave.

In an unrelated move the Pope named Cardinal Robert Prevost, the American-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, as a cardinal-bishop.

 

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Further information:

• Pope extends terms of dean, subdean of College of Cardinals (CNS)
• Is Cardinal Parolin the next cardinal dean? (Pillar)