List of current cardinals

They are almost always bishops and generally hold important roles within the church, such as leading prominent archdioceses or heading dicasteries within the Roman Curia.

[1][2] Under current ecclesiastical law, as defined by the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, only cardinals who have not passed their 80th birthdays on the day on which the Holy See becomes vacant are eligible to take part in a papal conclave to elect a new pope.

The number of votes required to be elected pope with a two-thirds supermajority,[3][251] if all 138 cardinal electors were to participate (notwithstanding the maximum of 120 specified in Universi Dominici gregis), would be 92.

The countries with the greatest numbers of cardinals are Italy (fifty-one), the United States (seventeen), and Spain (thirteen).

Among the cardinal electors, the countries with the greatest numbers are Italy (seventeen), the United States (ten), and Brazil (seven).