At 9:30 one morning last week, Pope John XXIII, walking briskly, crossed the threshold of the Vatican's Consistory Hall, followed in order of seniority by 29 purple-clad cardinals. As soon as he was seated on his throne, the papal master of ceremonies cried out, in accordance with" the rubrics of this historic ritual, "Extra omnes [Everyone outside]" A host of attending bishops and monsignori, the chamberlains and members of the Noble Guard bowed to the throne and withdrew; the doors were closed. The Pope, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, and absolute ruler of the largest religious body in Christianity, was left alone with his princes.
Thus began the secret consistory at which the Pope formally elevated ten new cardinals. After reading an address in Latin that paid tribute to 17 cardinals who have died in the past three years, and after praising the courage of churchmen behind the Iron Curtain, the Pope read off the names of his choices. At the end he asked, in the time-honored ritual phrase, "Quid vobis videtur? [What do you think?]" In the sign of an assent that is now automatic, the cardinals doffed their scarlet zucchetta (skullcaps). The Pope pronounced the words of appointment: "By the authority of Almighty God, of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and of ourself, we appoint"—and here, one by one, the Pope named the men—"to be cardinals, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." Thus the Sacred College of Cardinals was raised to the highest membership in history—90, including three cardinals in pectore (in the breast), whose names the Pope has never revealed.
The doors to the hall were opened, and papal messengers delivered biglietti, the formal written notices of elevation to the purple, to the eight new cardinals who were in Rome for the ceremony.* As usual with precedent-cracking Pope John, a certain surprise went with the biglietti. The majority of cardinals are already bishops or archbishops before they receive their red hats; at the consistory the Pope announced that he would raise all twelve of the present cardinals who were not bishops (including two of the new ones) to bishoprics at a special ceremony next month.
A Whim of the Pope. A cardinal, according to an old Roman riddle, is a whim of the Pope; he must vow absolute obedience to the will of the man who holds the See of St. Peter, must get explicit papal permission to leave Rome or its suburbs. But a cardinal is also, next to the Pope, the most privileged and the most powerful cleric in the Roman Catholic Church. As one of the most spectacular dressers of Christendom, he has to lay out at least $3,000 for his cassocks and skullcaps of scarlet and purple* (which are worn during Lent, Advent and other times of penance and mourning), his white lace rochets, silk sashes, and the splendid cappa magna — a 15-ft-long scarlet train worn on solemn liturgical occasions. As a member of the church's senate, a cardinal advises the Pope on church policy, helps run the Vatican's huge bureaucracy, and will elect one of his number to the papacy when John XXIII dies. But he is also a prince; letters to him from Catholic kings are properly addressed "Dear Cousin."