Vatican City - Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church began gathering in Rome for a day of "prayer and reflection" ahead of the first consistory under Pope Benedict XVI, in which he will elevate 15 cardinals who will help him guide the world's more than one billion Catholics.
The day of prayer on Thursday will be a kind of "brainstorming" session to discuss problems facing the Church worldwide, what observers say is an example of Benedict's stated intention to have greater collegiality, or consultation, within the Church.
The gathering of top clergy will show the two faces of the Roman Catholic Church in quick succession -- the secrecy of Thursday's behind-closed-doors meeting contrasting starkly with the colourful public ceremony on Friday in which the new cardinals will receive the trappings of their high office.
Thursday's gathering, unprecedented in Benedict's short reign, will involve all 193 cardinals, include the 15 to be elevated as "Princes of the Church" at Friday's solemn ceremony.
The 78-year-old German pope expects those attending the meeting to "speak freely" on the key issues facing the Church, according to Belgian cardinal-elect Albert Vanhoye.
"We will be able to speak about the lack of vocations, relations with civil authorities and other problems," said Vanhoye.
The pontiff will address the cardinals at the end of the meeting.
During the consistory, each cardinal will be blessed by the pope and be handed a red zucchetto (skull cap) and a red biretta to wear over it. The blood-red colour of the cardinals' vestments and headwear signifies their willingness to die for their faith.
The consistory will be held in front of around 7,000 diplomats, relatives and ordinary pilgrims in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall at 10:30 am (0930 GMT) Friday. Each new cardinal will later be assigned a room at the Vatican in which to greet wellwishers and diplomats.
While some cardinals act as Vatican "ministers" at the head of various departments in the Roman Curia, or Vatican administration, around three-quarters are heads of the world's largest Catholic dioceses.
They are the first-chosen of the post-John Paul II era, and include the politically significant appointment of Hong Kong's outspoken Archbishop Joseph Zen, a fierce critic of the Chinese regime who hopes to help end a bitter 55-year dispute between Rome and Beijing.
Zen told reporters after his nomination that improving relations with China, which imposes strict controls on religion, would be his priority.
Zen is one of three new Asian cardinals, along with Seoul Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin Suk and Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales.
Other significant appointees include Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, Poland, the long-serving secretary of Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II; Boston archbishop Sean O'Malley, and Archbishop William Levada from the Curia.
The bearded O'Malley was chosen by John Paul II to succeed the disgraced Bernard Law after he resigned from the US archdiocese, tainted by a series of scandals involving paedophile priests.
Levada, former archbishop of San Francisco, is now the Vatican's doctrinal enforcer, having assumed the pope's former position.
The new arrivals include 12 cardinals currently aged under-80, and as such will take their place in the 120-member college of cardinal-electors who, when the time comes, will be tasked with choosing a successor to Benedict.
The full list, beginning with the elector cardinals, comprises:
- Archbishop William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, United States
- Archbishop Franc Rode, from Slovenia, Prefect of the Congregation for Religious Orders,
- Archbishop Agostino Vallini, from Italy, Prefect of the Apostolic Signature, the Vatican's highest tribunal.
- Archbishop Jorge Savino, Caracas, Venezuela
- Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, Manila, Philippines
- Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard, Bordeaux, France
- Archbishop Antonio Canizares Llovera, Toledo, Spain
- Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Seoul, South Korea
- Archbishop Sean O'Malley, Boston, United States
- Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, Krakow, Poland
- Archbishop Carlo Caffarra, Bologna, Italy
- Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Hong Kong, China
The non-elector cardinals, aged over-80, are:
Archpriest Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, Italy
Archbishop Peter Poreku Dery, Tamale, Ghana
Albert Vanhoye, former rector of the Pontifical Library, Belgium.