cardinalate of very
young men, of relatives or favourites of the popes and of men whose
qualifications were by no means ecclesiastical. In the Sacred College as
elsewhere nepotism and an exaggerated estimate of temporal interests
were rife. At last a real reform was effected. The council of Trent
(sess. xxiv. cap. i. _de reform._) requires for cardinals all the
qualifications prescribed by law for bishops. Sixtus V. defined these
still more clearly, and his regulations are still in force: a cardinal
must, in the year of his promotion, be of the canonical age required for
his reception into the order demanded by his rank. i.e. 22 for the
diaconate, 23 for the priesthood and 30 for the episcopate, and if not
already ordained he must take orders in the year of his appointment. Men
of illegitimate birth are excluded, as well as near relatives of the
pope (with one exception) and of the cardinals; the personal qualities
to be most sought for are learning, holiness and an honourable life. All
these recommendations have been, on the whole, well observed, and are so
better than ever in the present day. We may add that the religious
orders have had a certain number of representatives, four, at least, in
the Sacred College, since Sixtus V., several of whom, as we know, became
popes. As to the cardinals' hats granted at the request of the heads of
Catholic states, they are subject to negotiations analogous to those
concerning nominations to the episcopate, though entailing no
concordatory agreement, strictly speaking, on the part of the popes.

Creation.

The _creation_ of cardinals (to use the official term) is in fact
nowadays the function of the pope alone. It is accomplished by the
publication of the persons chosen by the pope in secret consistory
(q.v.). No other formality is essential; and the provision of Eugenius
IV., which required the reception of the insignia of the cardinalate for
the promotion to be valid, was abrogated before long, and definitely
annulled by the declaration of Pius V. of the 26th of January 1571.
Similarly neither the consent nor the vote of the Sacred College is
required. It is true that a Roman _Ceremoniale_ of 1338 (Thomassin, loc.
cit. cap. 114, n. 12) still enjoins upon the pope to consult the Sacred
College, on the Wednesdays during Ember days, as to whether it is
necessary to nominate new cardinals, and if so, how many; but this is
only a survival of the ritual of the ancient form of ord