Cardinali

Cardinali is the Italian plural form of cardinal, a senior rank within the Catholic Church. In common usage, cardinale refers to a member of the College of Cardinals, the body of senior church officials who advise the pope and, in the event of a papal vacancy, elect a new pope. The term can therefore denote individual cardinals or the collective body itself.

The College of Cardinals is traditionally divided into three ranks: cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons. Cardinal bishops are typically the senior prelatures, often holding suburban Roman sees. Cardinal priests are bishops of important dioceses worldwide who are assigned a “title” church in Rome. Cardinal deacons are usually officials of the Roman Curia or bishops who hold the rank of deacon. Most cardinals are bishops, but the modern practice has from time to time included clerics who are priests or hold other roles within the Church.

Creation and duties of cardinals are at the discretion of the pope. Cardinals participate in governing the Church through various congregations and, most prominently, they elect the pope in a conclave, provided they are under the age of 80 at the time of the papal vacancy. The College of Cardinals has played a central role in papal elections since the medieval period and remains a key instrument of governance and continuity within the Holy See.

Beyond ecclesiastical contexts, cardinali can also refer to cardinal virtues in Italian usage when paired with appropriate nouns (for example virtù cardinali), or to Italian family names. The term thus spans ecclesiastical, linguistic, and onomastic domains.