How to Become a Cardinal

At the Beginning

Determine if you are eligible. To begin the process of becoming a cardinal in the Catholic Church, you need to meet a few basic requirements. You must be Catholic, male, and unmarried. Along with being unmarried, you must take a lifelong vow of celibacy. As long as the other qualifications are there, you can be a widower and still become a member of the clergy. You will still need to take a vow of celibacy for the future, however. You cannot be divorced if you want to become a member of the clergy, but you might be eligible if you obtain an annulment.

Be active in your parish and Catholic community. Catholic clergy are expected to be actively involved in the lives of those Catholics whom they serve. Being active in your parish and the broader Catholic community before you even start the process will give you a taste for what it can be like and may look better to the people in charge.

Discern a calling to religious life. It should go without saying, but becoming a cardinal—or a bishop, or a priest—requires you to have a full-time spiritual commitment. A vocation is a calling, so before you embark further in the process, you should make sure that God is calling you to religious life. As part of your discernment process, ask for guidance from your priest. Your parish priest and other leaders in your Catholic community can provide you with additional information, as well as guidance. These people can also pray for and with you, helping you in your personal discernment.

Become a Priest

Earn a Bachelor's Degree. You will need to obtain a four-year undergraduate degree from an accredited institution. Technically, your degree can be in any subject, but a degree in Catholic Philosophy is preferable. Your grades upon graduation do not need to be top-of-the-class, but you should be an average or above average student.

Enroll in a pre-theology program. You need to take a two-year Pre-Theology Program consisting of 30 credit hours of philosophy courses and 12 credit hours of theology courses. Note that you might be able to satisfy the requirements in part or in full during your undergraduate education if you take courses from a Catholic university that match the courses required in a Pre-Theology Program.

Get a Master of Divinity degree at seminary. Attend a Catholic Seminary and obtain a four-year graduate-level degree. In order to get into a seminary school, you might need letters of recommendation from current leaders within the church. Academically, a seminary will prepare you by offering courses in Biblical studies, Catholic philosophy and theology, liturgy, pastoral studies, church history, and preaching. Additionally, a seminary should help you discern once and for all if you are called to a religious vocation. This means preparing you academically as well as spiritually. Entering into seminary is not a permanent decision. You are not committed to the life and work of a priest until you take your final vows.

Spend time as a deacon. Usually, you will need to spend six months as a deacon before you can be ordained a priest. As a deacon, you will be expected to actively take part in the running of a parish to which you will be assigned. In essence, the time you spend as a deacon is like a trial period for priesthood. You will be assigned many duties by the priest of your assigned parish, and these duties often include many that you will have to take care of as a priest when the time comes. The priest of your assigned parish can voice his opinion on whether or not he believes you to be fit for the priesthood.

Become ordained. With all of your educational requirements completed, the final stage in the path to priesthood is gaining the bishop's approval. If the bishop of your diocese determines that you have what it takes to be a good priest, you will be ordained. Once the bishop of your diocese approves you, there will be an official Ordination Ceremony during which you will take your vows and officially become a priest. After taking Holy Orders, the bishop of your diocese will assign you a position. Usually, you will be appointed as a priest or assistant priest to a parish within the diocese, but sometimes, you might be appointed as a chaplain to a Catholic hospital or another similar post. You might be able to make requests, but your requests may or may not influence your final position.

Become a Bishop

Get a Doctorate in Theology. While not an official requirement, obtaining a Ph.D. in Theology will improve your chances of being selected to become a bishop. To improve your odds even further, go through the program at a Catholic university, since a Catholic school will teach you theology from the perspective of the Catholic church.

Gain enough experience. Experience is not an official requirement, either, but it is another important “unofficial” prerequisite quality you should have if you want to be chosen. You need both life and vocational experience to make the cut, and should be 35 years of age or older and a priest for five years or more. During this time, it also helps if you gain a bit of a name for yourself. The more active and dedicated you are as a priest, the more likely your efforts will be noticed by the right people.

Wait for a local bishop to retire or pass away. The number of bishops is determined by the number of dioceses. The only way to become a bishop is to wait for the bishop of your diocese, or a bishop from a nearby diocese, to retire or pass away, thereby creating an open position. Retirement is mandatory for bishops at the age of 75.

Wait for the news. Unfortunately, you cannot apply or “run” to become a bishop. The initial selection of candidates is made by local bishops from neighboring dioceses, and this initial selection must go through various channels before the new bishop is chosen. If you are chosen, however, you will probably hear the news within a few months after the position opened up. Local bishops select priests from the area and form a list of potential candidates who they believe to be capable of performing the duties of a bishop. These candidates are put on an undisclosed list and sent to the Apostalic Nuncio. The Apostolic Nuncio is the ambassador to Rome for your country. He reviews the names on the list sent by the bishops, and after performing a series of interviews and research, chooses three candidates from that list. He then passes the three names to the Congress of Bishops in Rome. The Congress of Bishops in Rome will look at the three candidates and determine who, if any, should be selected as the new bishop. If they do not like anyone, the Apostalic Nuncio will need to select another three candidates. If they do like someone, the name is passed to the Pope. The Pope looks at the final candidate. If he approves, that candidate becomes the new bishop. If he vetoes it, the Apostalic Nuncio needs to pick out new candidates.

Become a Cardinal

Understand the role of a cardinal. A cardinal is not the boss of other bishops, as the hierarchy of the Catholic Church might suggest. A cardinal is actually still a bishop himself, and “cardinal” is actually just an additional title he receives. Note that, according to Church law, new cardinals should be ordained bishops before being considered for appointment as cardinals. In some rare instances, however, elderly priests who have gained great esteem and have performed admirably for the Church can be appointed as cardinals without first being appointed as bishops.

Note the different categories of cardinals. Among the cardinals, there are three separate ranks: cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons. No rank is "higher" than the others, per se, but each rank does have its own responsibilities. Cardinal bishops are bishops within Rome who are involved in full-time service to the central administration of Church affairs within the Roman Curia, or governing body of the Church. Cardinal priests are bishops with dioceses outside of Rome. Cardinal deacons are bishops in title whose primary duties involve full-time service to the Roman Curia.

Improve your odds by becoming archbishop of the right diocese. Technically, you can be appointed as a cardinal as long as you are the bishop of just about any diocese, but the bishops or archbishops of certain dioceses are historically more likely to be selected than many others. Once you reach this stage of preparation, take a look at the bishops who have been made cardinals over the past few decades to determine where your best odds lie. Traditionally, within the United States, Baltimore and Boston are the two dioceses most commonly headed by a cardinal. Note that an archbishop is a bishop who governs over his own diocese while also leading the bishops of other smaller dioceses within a wider, metropolitan district.

Get appointed by the Pope. As with becoming a bishop, there is no way to run or apply for a job as a cardinal. Instead, you need to hope that the current Pope sees your efforts, recognizes them as spiritually significant, and determines that you should be a cardinal by God's will. In addition to the suggestions already mentioned, it helps to be a notably pious bishop. Regardless of the diocese you serve, as a bishop, you must demonstrate your dedication to God's will and desire to lead the Catholic faithful of the flock you've been given charge of in order to be noticed and considered.

Take the Cardinals' Oath. Once you are selected to become a cardinal, you will be given the right garb during an official ceremony, during which you will also need to take a vow to express your dedication in your new position. During the ceremony, you will receive a scarlet zucchetto (skullcap) and scarlet biretta (four-cornered silk hat), as well as a ring signifying your new title. One rough translation of the Cardinals' Oath is as follows: "I [name and surname], Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, promise and swear to be faithful henceforth and forever, while I live, to Christ and his Gospel, being constantly obedient to the Holy Roman Apostolic Church, to Blessed Peter in the person of the Supreme Pontiff Francis, and of his canonically elected Successors; to maintain communion with the Catholic Church always, in word and deed; not to reveal to any one what is confided to me in secret, nor to divulge what may bring harm or dishonor to Holy Church; to carry out with great diligence and faithfulness those tasks to which I am called by my service to the Church, in accord with the norms of the law. So help me Almighty God."