VATICAN CITY -- The Catholic Church has welcomed nearly two dozen new members to the top ranks of its hierarchy, including Daniel DiNardo from the Galveston Houston Diocese.
Pope Benedict today elevated DiNardo and 22 other churchmen from around the world to cardinal, pronouncing each of their names to the cheers and applause of thousands in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Hundreds of Houston area Catholics traveled to Rome for the ceremony.
It’s the second such ceremony presided over by Benedict and swells the ranks of cardinals who will eventually choose his successor. The College of Cardinals now numbers 120. Eighteen of the new Cardinals are under 80, and thus are eligible to vote on papal succession.
Benedict presided over the ceremony wearing resplendent golden robes and a 19th century gilded miter, or bishop’s hat, once worn by Pope Pius the ninth. In proclaiming the new “princes” of the church,
Benedict said they “must be intrepid witnesses of Christ and his Gospel in the city of Rome and in faraway places.”

Source: Associated Press