⁍ Pope Francis named 13 cardinals from eight countries on Sunday.

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⁍ Nine are eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor after his death or resignation.

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⁍ The new cardinals come from Italy, Malta, Rwanda, the United States, the Philippines, Chile, Brunei and Mexico.

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– Pope Francis has named 13 new cardinals, nine of whom are eligible to enter a conclave to elect the next pope, Reuters reports. Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, will become the first African-American to hold the rank. The pope named the new cardinals from eight countries, including Italy, Malta, Rwanda, the United States, the Philippines, Chile, Brunei, and Mexico. The four non-electors, who will not be allowed to enter a conclave because they are over the age of 80, are from Italy and Mexico. Two of the new cardinals, Archbishop Antoine Kambanda of Kigali, Rwanda, and Bishop Cornelius Sim of Brunei, appear to be part of Francis’ policy of giving more prestige to the Church in far-flung places, often where Catholics are a tiny minority. His elevation of Archbishop Celestino Aos Braco of Chile to the rank of cardinal is significant because it is part of Francis’ attempt to heal the country still reeling from a sexual abuse scandal. The new cardinal’s predecessor as archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, was the highest-ranking member of the Chilean Church to be caught up in the scandal. The appointment of Aos Braco was particularly stinging to Chileans because he is Spanish and not a native, signaling the pope’s conviction that an outsider was needed to clean up the situation.