Pope Francis appoints 20 new cardinals in move for diversity

And shifting to the Vatican.

Pope Francis has named a group of 20 new cardinals from around the world.

Paul, many are hailing this international selection of religious leaders as a move to bring more diversity into the church.

That's right. Pope Francis is definitely making it clear what future direction he wants the 1.2 billion-member Church to follow, with several of the nominees in this highly elite group hailing from developing countries.

Myanmar, Tonga and Cape Verde saw clergy named to cardinal posts for the first time.

There were also appointees from New Zealand, Ethiopia and Panama, representing nearly every continent on the globe.

Pope Francis read out the list of new Cardinals on Sunday before thousands of visitors at St. Peter's Square.

(Italian)

" I have the joy of holding a Consistory, during which I will appoint 15 new cardinals who will come from 14 countries from every continent. They will show the inseparable bond between the Church of Rome and the particular Churches present in the world."

The nominees will be formally installed on February 14th following a meeting of all sitting cardinals of the Vatican's administrative body, or the Roman Curia.

It is the second time Francis has selected a fresh group of cardinals since being elected to the top post nearly two years ago.

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