Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins to be elevated to cardinal
Posted Feb 17, 2012 6:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins will be elevated to the rank of cardinal on Saturday during a ceremony at the Vatican.
Collins, 64, is currently the head of the Archdiocese of Toronto and the 16th Canadian cardinal in the Catholic Church’s history.
He will be one of 22 archbishops being elevated to the rank of cardinal.
- 570News’ news director Joe Pavia will be in Rome for the ceremony reporting for Rogers radio stations across Canada. You can follow his tweets at @Pavia570News.
Cardinals are the Pope’s top advisers, the elite group of churchmen who will eventually elect his successor.
Of the 22 new appointees, 18 are under the age of 80 — raising to 125 the number of cardinals eligible to vote in the next papal conclave. Cardinals aged 80 and over are not allowed to vote on the next pope.
Collins said his new responsibilities overseas won’t take him away from his duties at home. He said he’ll stay in charge of the Archdiocese of Toronto while he juggles his new duties.
He said the key to being a good leader for the universal church is to be a good bishop at home.
About 200 Catholics will be on hand to watch Collins don his red hat, as well as a federal delegation led by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
