Pope names cardinals for Laos, Mali, Sweden, Spain, Salvador

Pope Francis

Pope Francis has named five new cardinals for Laos, Mali, Sweden, Spain and El Salvador.

Francis, in his surprise announcement Sunday to faithful in St. Peter’s Square, said his selection reflects the universal nature of the Catholic Church. In some of the countries, like Laos and Sweden, Catholics are a minority.

The churchmen will be formally installed as cardinals in a ceremony at the Vatican on June 28.

They are Monsignor Jean Zerbo, archbishop of Bamako, Mali; Monsignor Juan Jose Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain; Monsignor Anders Arborelius, bishop of Stockholm; Monsignor Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, apostolic vicar of Pakse, Laos; and Monsignor Gregorio Rosa Chavez, an auxiliary bishop in San Salvador, El Salvador.