On 1 September 2019, Pope Francis announced the names of thirteen new cardinals to be created at a public consistory in the month of October. Among the appointees was Father Michael Czerny, S.J. of Canada. Cardinal-designate Czerny will officially be elevated to the College of Cardinals during the Ordinary Public Consistory to take place tomorrow on Saturday 5 October 2019 and following his ordination to the episcopacy today. Coverage of the Consistory will be available through the Vatican News website https://www.vaticannews.va/en.html and YouTube channel.

Born in former Czechoslovakia in 1946, Fr. Czerny came to Canada with his family at the age of two and was ordained to the priesthood in 1973 for the Society of Jesus. Since 2017, Cardinal-designate Czerny has worked as one of two Under-Secretaries for the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and in May 2019, he was named one of two Special Secretaries for the upcoming Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region from 6 to 27 October 2019.

What is an Ordinary Public Consistory?
The public consistory, during which the red hat or biretta is conferred, follows a private meeting of all cardinals and in which the Holy Father officially welcomes each new member. This ceremony marks the final step in the process to install the cardinal-designate in his new role as a cardinal and a full member of the College of Cardinals.