Pope Francis will include an extra appointment to the college of cardinals in the December consistory, the Holy See announced on Monday. The pope has decided to create Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples alongside the slate of new appointments announced Oct 6.
Archbishop Battaglia, 61, has been seen as a rising star in the Italian Church. Francis is occasionally known to cite prayers written by the archbishop.
The archbishop’s appointment as a cardinal brings the number of new voting-age cardinals who will be created next month to 21. That follows the announcement of the Indonesian Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur that he was declining the pope’s offer to make him a cardinal.
The Vatican gave no clear reason for the bishop refusing the pope’s appointment, saying only that it was “motivated by his desire to continue growing in priestly life and in service to the Church and the people of God.”