Pope says will create new cardinals end September

Pope Francis said on Sunday he would create 21 new cardinals from across the world at the end of September.

Pope said following his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Saint Peter's Square.The consistory will be the ninth for the creation of cardinals under Pope Francis, who is in the tenth year of his papacy. 

Cardinals under the age of 80 will participate in the vote to nominate the successor to Francis. Since becoming pope, Francis has sought to promote clergy from developing nations far from Rome to the highest ranks of the Church, as part of his general philosophy of diversity and inclusion.

The last consistory was held in August 2022, when Francis inducted 20 cardinals.As of last year's consistory, Francis had chosen around 90 out of the 132 cardinals eligible to elect a new pope, around two-thirds of the total.