By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis will appoint 21 new cardinals from around the world, he announced on Sunday, in an unexpected push to influence the powerful group of churchmen that will one day choose his successor.
The ceremony to install the new appointees, known as a consistory, will be held on Dec. 8, the 87-year-old pope said during his weekly noon-time prayer with pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square.
It will be the 10th consistory called by the pope since his election 11 years ago as the first pontiff from Latin America.
The new cardinals come from a wide array of countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Italy, Britain, Serbia, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, Ivory Coast and Algeria.
The list contains 20 who are under the age of 80 and therefore able to vote in the conclave to elect a new pope after Francis's death or resignation.
Only one of the group is above the age threshold -- a 99-year-old Italian archbishop, named in gratitude for his service to the Church. By contrast, Mykola Bychok of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, is only 44, making him the youngest cardinal.
By the start of next year, there will be 140 cardinal electors, almost 80% of them chosen by Francis. This increases the possibility that the next pope will share his vision of a more progressive, inclusive Church.
Church law technically limits the number of elector cardinals to 120, but recent popes have frequently gone above that number. Fourteen cardinals will turn 80 during 2025, including one named on Sunday.
Francis has consistently named cardinal electors from countries far from Rome, giving less importance than his predecessors to European nations.
All cardinals, regardless of age, are allowed to take part in pre-conclave meetings, known as General Congregations, giving them a say in the type of person they think the younger cardinals should choose.
Cardinals rank second only to the pope in the Church hierarchy and serve as his closest advisers. Their historical power and influence means they are still called the princes of the Church, though Francis has told them not to live like royalty and to be close to the poor.