Rome: Three Asian were among 15 prelates Pope Francis nominated to the College of Cardinals on Sunday.

Majority of the new cardinals hails from small, developing countries such as Cape Verde, Myanmar and Tonga, report agencies.

Pope Francis’ choices reflect his efforts to reorient the College of Cardinals toward the developing world. The names also demonstrate the pope’s support for prelates with pastoral experience in smaller dioceses and for those coping with violence, migration and poverty.

The new batch represents 14 countries in total: five are from Europe, three each from Asia and Latin America, and two each from Africa and Oceania.

One of the pope’s nominees I Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Southeast Asian nation has a small but vibrant Catholic community and is one of the few countries with which the Holy See doesn’t have diplomatic relations. However, relations have warmed notably in recent years and some expect full ties to be restored in the near future.

The Pope also nominated Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok and Archbishop Charles Maung Bo in Myanmar.

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij

The 15 men are all under the age of 80, which makes them eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a future pope. The group of cardinals is the second appointed by Pope Francis, who will have chosen nearly a quarter of voting-age cardinals once they are elevated during a ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Feb. 14.

Pope Francis elevated just one member of the Curia, the Vatican’s Roman bureaucracy, but chose a Moroccan-born French prelate, Msgr. Dominique Mamberti, who heads the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s highest court. About a quarter of voting-age cardinals now come from the Curia.

Last February, Pope Francis named 19 new cardinals, many also from the developing world. The choice of cardinals is among the most important tasks of a pope. In addition to choosing a new pontiff, the cardinals lead influential dioceses around the world and serve as the heads of key Vatican departments.

New cardinals are named when existing ones turn 80 and lose their eligibility to vote in a papal election. By the time of next month’s elevation ceremony, or consistory, there will be 10 vacancies, with two cardinals turning 80 soon afterward. Under rules set by Pope Paul VI, the College of Cardinals Electors should have a maximum of 120 voting-age members. But popes have in the past broken the rules, as did St. John Paul II several times during his papacy.

The pope has raised the number of voting-age cardinals to 125, only slightly over the traditional limit of 120.

After the new nominees are elevated, Europe, home to 24 percent of the world’s Catholics, will have 57 cardinals, while the U.S. and Canada, which have about 8 percent of Catholics, will have 15. By contrast, Latin America, which has nearly 40 percent of Catholics and where the ranks of the faithful are growing, will have 21 cardinals, or less than a fifth of voting-age cardinals.

For the second time, the pope chose no new American cardinals. And his nominees in the rich world reflect his preference to focus on smaller cities. For instance, he chose Msgr. Ricardo Blazquez Perez, archbishop of Valladolid, Spain.

The pope chose no new American cardinals. And his nominees in the rich world reflect his preference to focus on smaller cities. For instance, he chose Msgr. Ricardo Blazquez Perez, archbishop of Valladolid, Spain.

The pontiff chose cardinals in a number of cities such as David, Panama, and Morelia, Mexico, that haven’t had cardinals in the past. He also chose places where the Catholic community is a minority and areas, such as Morella, which are afflicted by violence.

The youngest nominee is Msgr. Soane Patita Paini Mafi, the 53-year-old bishop of Tonga. Others include Msgr. Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis

Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon in Hanoi

Ababa, Ethiopia, and Msgr. Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet of Montevideo. In Cape Verde, Santiago de Cabo Vede—one of Africa’s oldest Catholic dioceses—will receive its first cardinalship when the pope elevates Msgr. Arlindo Gomes Furtado next month.

Referring to the Vatican, Pope Francis told faithful in St Peter’s Square that the churchmen come “from every continent” and “show the indelible tie with the church of Rome to churches in the world.”

In addition to the 15 new cardinals who are under 80 and thus eligible to vote for the next pope, Francis bestowed the honor on five churchmen older than that.

He said they distinguished themselves for their work in the Vatican bureaucracy, in diplomatic service in giving witness to their love of Christ and God’s people. Those included men from Peru and Mozambique.

Speaking from a Vatican window to a crowd in St Peter’s Square, Francis made another surprise announcement. He said that on February 12-13, he will lead of meeting of all cardinals to “reflect on the orientations and proposals for the reform of the Roman Curia,” the Vatican’s administrative bureaucracy.