Pope names new cardinals

The pope announcingthe new cardinals

Pope John Paul has named 37 new cardinals - the largest number ever created at one time.

Correspondents say the move will have a bearing on who is chosen as the pontiff's successor.

I have the joy to announce that... I will hold a consistory in which, breaking yet again the numerical limit set by Pope Paul VI... I will nominate 37 new cardinals

Pope John Paul

The new cardinals come from all around the world, including the Archbishop of Washington, Monsignor Theodore McCarrick and the Monsignor Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan of Vietnam.

They also include the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England, Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

The college of cardinals had reached one of its lowest levels for years, with 12 cardinals dying in 2000.

The pope has now appointed all except 10 of the cardinals eligible to choose a pope.

Limits raised

Those over 80 years of age cannot vote.

Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - one of the 37 new cardinals

Normally there is a top limit of 120 cardinals available to vote, but Pope John Paul has now raised that figure to 128.

Another of the new cardinals is Monsignor Giovanni Battista Re.

He was recently promoted to head of the Vatican's department which deals with the appointment of bishops and is seen in some quarters as the most likely candidate to succeed Pope John Paul.

82-year-old Jesuit theologian, Avery Dulles, who teaches theology at New York's Fordham University is on the list.

His father was John Foster Dulles, the former American Secretary of State.

The pope will give the cardinals their traditional red hats and rings at a cermony in Rome on 21 February.