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Cardinal Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, the Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Quito (Ecuador) turns 80, ceases to be a Cardinal-elector

Vela Chiriboga

Today, Wednesday, 1 January 2014, on New Year’s Day, Cardinal Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria in Via, the Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Quito, of Ecuador, turns 80, and therefore, according to the rules written in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, he loses his right to vote in any future conclave.

Cardinal Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Pudenziana by Pope Benedict XVI in the 2010 Consistory of Cardinals on 20 November 2010, the third Consistory of his pontificate. Cardinal Vela Chiriboga was made a Cardinal in honour of his service to the Church as the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Quito in Ecuador from 2003 to 2010, retiring just before he received the red hat from the Pope.

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http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardB16-3.htm#5336

May God bless His Eminence Cardinal Vela Chiriboga, with a blessed old age and health. May he remain strong in the faith and hopefully can perhaps still continue to work great graces and good works of love and peace in his old age and retirement, as he continued to minister to the people of God.

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The College of Cardinals now stands at 199 members in total, with 107 Cardinal-electors and 92 Cardinal non-electors. There are now vacancy of 13 Cardinal-electors as compared to the maximum number of electors allowed in the Conclave of 120, although Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI had sometimes surpassed this limit.

Next Cardinal-elector to age out (80) will be Cardinal Giovanni Batista Re, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops, on 30 January 2014.

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Third General Congregation of the College of Cardinals and the Holy See Press Office Announcement

The third General Congregation of the College of Cardinals is now ongoing in Rome, starting since an hour ago (Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 9.30 am Rome time / CET / UTC+1), and will continue on until another two hours. The date of the conclave had not been announced, but with still a few Cardinal-electors due to arrive in Rome by today, it might be that the date for the Conclave may not be known until the Holy See Press Office announcement by Fr. Federico Lombardi either today or tomorrow (both at 1 pm Rome time / CET / UTC+1).

Watch at the Vatican Player at http://www.vatican.va/video/ for the press release by Fr. Lombardi in another 2.5 hours or so, and as always, pray for all the Cardinals, especially the electors!

There will be only one General Congregation today and on the following days as opposed to two the previous day, as decided in the Second General Congregation yesterday evening (Rome time), thus the fourth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals, if there is one, will only commence tomorrow morning at 9.30 am (Wednesday, 6 March 2013).

103 Cardinal-electors attended the first General Congregation yesterday morning, out of a total of 115, and another 4 joined in the second General Congregation in the afternoon (107 out of 115), thus only another 8 Cardinal-electors, who are all hoped to arrive in Rome by today.