In 2024, 13 cardinals will turn 80 years old and, according to the canon law, will no longer be eligible to participate in a future conclave. As of now, the Sacred College consists of 132 electors and 109 non-electors. By the end of 2024, barring any new appointments, the number of electors will decrease to 119, just one below the maximum number set by Pope Paul VI and confirmed by Pope John Paul II, although popes have often deviated from this limit.
The first cardinal to reach 80 in 2024 will be Nigerian Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, the Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja, on January 29. Previously the President of the Nigerian Episcopal Conference and the Secam, he was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2012 and participated in the conclave that elected Pope Francis the following year. He has been the Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja since November 9, 2019.
February 12 will see Peruvian Cardinal Pedro Jimeno Barreto, Archbishop of Huancayo, turn 80. He received his cardinalate from Pope Francis on June 28, 2018. A Jesuit, he has been the President of the Ecclesiastical Conference of Amazonia since 2022.
Spanish-born but Panamanian by adoption, Cardinal José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán of the Augustinian Recollects will turn 80 on February 24. The Bishop of David, he has served two terms as President of the Episcopal Conference of Panama. He was made a cardinal during the consistory of February 14, 2015.
On April 8, Laotian Cardinal Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, the Vicar Apostolic of Vientiane, will celebrate his 80th birthday. He has been a cardinal since 2017 and served as President of the Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia. He was imprisoned by the local regime from 1984 to 1987.
Spanish Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer will turn 80 on April 19. A Jesuit, he is the Emeritus Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, having previously served as its secretary. He was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Francis on June 28, 2018.
Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Emeritus Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and former Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec, will reach 80 on June 8. A cardinal since 2003, he participated in the conclaves that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope Francis in 2013. He led the Dicastery for Bishops from 2010 to 2023.
On June 29, American Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, will exit the group of electors. A Capuchin, he is also the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and a member of the C9, the council of cardinals assisting the Pope in reforming the Curia. He was created a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and participated in the 2013 conclave.
Tanzanian Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, the Emeritus Archbishop of Dar-es-Salam, will be excluded from future conclaves on August 5. He is one of the last electors created by Saint John Paul II, having received the red hat in 2003 and participated in the two subsequent conclaves.
Italian Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, the Major Penitentiary, will turn 80 on September 15. Formerly the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, he was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in the consistory of November 20, 2010, and thus participated in the conclave that elected Pope Francis.
French Cardinal Jean Pierre Ricard, the Emeritus Archbishop of Bordeaux, will celebrate his 80th birthday on September 25. A cardinal since 2006 and former President of the French Episcopal Conference, he admitted to abusing a 14-year-old girl in 1987. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has opened a proceeding, but his cardinal rights have not been revoked.
On October 10, Venezuelan Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, Archbishop of Caracas and formerly of Merida, will exit the group of electors. He received the red hat from Pope Francis in the consistory of November 2016. He has led the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela for two terms.
Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, will turn 80 on December 24. A member of the C9 since its inception and a multiple-term President of the Indian Episcopal Conference, he was made a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, participating in the 2013 conclave.
The last cardinal to turn 80 in 2024 will be Kenyan Cardinal John Njue on December 31. He has been the Archbishop of Nairobi and President of the Kenyan Episcopal Conference. He was included in the college of cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI in the consistory of November 24, 2007.
Excluding new appointments to the Sacred College, by the end of 2024, Europe will decrease from 55 to 52 electors; North America from 17 to 15; Central America from 5 to 4; South America from 15 to 13; Asia from 20 to 18; Africa from 17 to 14; Oceania remains stable at 3.
Without new appointments by the Pope, Peru, Panama, Laos, Venezuela, and Kenya will have no representatives in a future conclave.
