Pope Francis names 17 new cardinals of Roman Catholic Church Saturday Nov 19,2016

Pope Francis has named 17 new cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church from around the world, many of whom will help choose his successor.

The new cardinals

1. Mario Zenari, Italy (who will remain in his role as Papal Nuncio to Syria)
2. Dieudonne Nzapalainga, Central African Republic
3. Carlos Osoro Sierra, Spain
4. Sergio da Rocha, Brazil
5. Blase J Cupich, USA
6. Patrick D'Rozario, Bangladesh
7. Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, Venezuela
8. Jozef De Kesel, Belgium
9. Maurice Piat, Mauritius
10. Kevin Joseph Farrell, USA
11. Carlos Aguiar Retes, Mexico
12. John Ribat, Papua New Guinea
13. Joseph William Tobin, USA
14. Anthony Soter Fernandez, Malaysia
15. Renato Corti, Italy
16. Sebastian Koto Khoarai, Lesotho
17. Ernest Simoni, Albania

The new cardinals come from five continents, and include the Vatican's envoy to Syria.

Pope Francis has now chosen close to a third of the College of Cardinals who will ultimately pick who succeeds him

Only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote on the next Pope. Thirteen of those named cardinals on Saturday Nov 19,2016 are under 80, and are now eligible to succeed him.

It is the third time in three years that Pope Francis, the first Latin American Pope, has named new cardinals. He has used each opportunity to promote members from outside the College's traditional European base

The new cardinals come from countries including the Central African Republic, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and Mauritius, among others.

During the ceremony, Pope Francis decried what he said was a "growing animosity" between people, and raised concern over those who "raise walls, build barriers and label people".

"We live at a time in which polarisation and exclusion are burgeoning and considered the only way to resolve conflicts," he said.