# Cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave

The papal conclave of 2005 was convened to elect a pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, to succeed Pope John Paul II following his death on 2 April 2005. In accordance with the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, which governed the vacancy of the Holy See, only cardinals who had not passed their 80th birthday on the day on which the Holy See became vacant (in this case, cardinals who were born on or after 2 April 1925) were eligible to participate in the conclave. Although not a formal requirement, the cardinal electors invariably elected the pope from among their number. The election was carried out by secret ballot (Latin: per scrutinium).
Of the 183 members of the College of Cardinals at the time of John Paul II's death, there were 117 cardinal electors who were eligible to participate in the subsequent conclave. Two cardinal electors did not participate, decreasing the number in attendance to 115. The number of votes required to be elected pope with a two-thirds supermajority was 77, or (only in the event of a protracted deadlock) a simple majority of 58.
Of the 115 attending cardinal electors, 5 were cardinal bishops, 93 were cardinal priests, and 17 were cardinal deacons; 2 had been created cardinals by Pope Paul VI and 113 by Pope John Paul II; 24 worked in the service of the Holy See (such as in the Roman Curia), 73 were in pastoral ministry outside Rome, and 18 had retired. The oldest cardinal elector in the conclave was Marco Cé, at the age of 79, and the youngest was Péter Erdő, at the age of 52. Another 66 cardinals were ineligible to participate in the conclave, for reasons of age.
The cardinal electors entered the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave on 18 April 2005. On 19 April, after four ballots over two days, they elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who took the papal name Benedict XVI.

## Cardinal electors

The College of Cardinals is divided into three orders: cardinal bishops (CB), cardinal priests (CP) and cardinal deacons (CD), with precedence in that sequence. This is the order in which the cardinal electors process into the conclave, take the oath and cast their ballots. For cardinal bishops, except the Eastern Catholic patriarchs, the dean is first in precedence, followed by the vice-dean and then by the rest in order of appointment as cardinal bishops. For cardinal bishops who are Eastern Catholic patriarchs, for cardinal priests and for cardinal deacons, precedence is determined by the date of the consistory in which they were created cardinals and then by the order in which they appeared in the official announcement or bulletin.
Three of the cardinal electors were from the Eastern Catholic Churches: Ignace Moussa I Daoud (Syriac), Varkey Vithayathil (Syro-Malabar) and Lubomyr Husar (Ukrainian). The senior cardinal bishop, the senior cardinal priest, the senior cardinal deacon and the junior cardinal deacon, who were assigned specific roles in the conclave, such as presiding over the conclave itself (the senior cardinal bishop) or announcing the election of the pope (the senior cardinal deacon), were, respectively, Joseph Ratzinger, William Wakefield Baum, Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez and Attilio Nicora. The camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who was in charge of administering the Holy See during its vacancy, was Eduardo Martínez Somalo.
The data below are as of 2 April 2005, the date on which the Holy See became vacant. All cardinals are of the Latin Church unless otherwise stated. Cardinals belonging to institutes of consecrated life or to societies of apostolic life are indicated by the relevant post-nominal letters.
| Rank | Name | Country | Born | Order | Consistory | Office |
| 1 | Joseph Ratzinger* | Germany | 16 April 1927 (age 77) | CB | 27 June 1977 Paul VI | Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Dean) |
| 2 | Angelo Sodano | Italy | 23 November 1927 (age 77) | CB | 28 June 1991 John Paul II | Secretary of State (Vice-Dean) |
| 3 | Alfonso López Trujillo | Colombia | 8 November 1935 (age 69) | CB | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Council for the Family |
| 4 | Giovanni Battista Re | Italy | 30 January 1934 (age 71) | CB | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops |
| 5 | Ignace Moussa I Daoud | Syria | 18 September 1930 (age 74) | CB | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches (Syriac Church) |
| 6 | William Wakefield Baum | United States | 21 November 1926 (age 78) | CP | 24 May 1976 Paul VI | Major Penitentiary emeritus |
| 7 | Marco Cé | Italy | 8 July 1925 (age 79) | CP | 30 June 1979 John Paul II | Patriarch emeritus of Venice |
| 8 | Franciszek Macharski | Poland | 20 May 1927 (age 77) | CP | 30 June 1979 John Paul II | Archbishop of Kraków |
| 9 | Michael Michai Kitbunchu | Thailand | 25 January 1929 (age 76) | CP | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | Archbishop of Bangkok |
| 10 | Godfried Danneels | Belgium | 4 June 1933 (age 71) | CP | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels |
| 11 | Thomas Stafford Williams | New Zealand | 20 March 1930 (age 75) | CP | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Wellington |
| 12 | Carlo Maria Martini SJ | Italy | 15 February 1927 (age 78) | CP | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Milan |
| 13 | Jean-Marie Lustiger | France | 17 September 1926 (age 78) | CP | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Paris |
| 14 | Józef Glemp | Poland | 18 December 1929 (age 75) | CP | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | Archbishop of Warsaw |
| 15 | Joachim Meisner | Germany | 25 December 1933 (age 71) | CP | 2 February 1983 John Paul II | Archbishop of Cologne |
| 16 | Francis Arinze | Nigeria | 1 November 1932 (age 72) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments |
| 17 | Miguel Obando Bravo SDB | Nicaragua | 2 February 1926 (age 79) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Managua |
| 18 | Ricardo Jamin Vidal | Philippines | 6 February 1931 (age 74) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | Archbishop of Cebu |
| 19 | Paul Poupard | France | 30 August 1930 (age 74) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Council for Culture |
| 20 | Friedrich Wetter | Germany | 20 February 1928 (age 77) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | Archbishop of Munich and Freising |
| 21 | Adrianus Johannes Simonis | Netherlands | 26 November 1931 (age 73) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | Archbishop of Utrecht |
| 22 | Bernard Francis Law | United States | 4 November 1931 (age 73) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major |
| 23 | Giacomo Biffi | Italy | 13 June 1928 (age 76) | CP | 25 May 1985 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Bologna |
| 24 | Eduardo Martínez Somalo | Spain | 31 March 1927 (age 78) | CP | 28 June 1988 John Paul II | Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church |
| 25 | José Freire Falcão | Brazil | 23 October 1925 (age 79) | CP | 28 June 1988 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Brasília |
| 26 | Michele Giordano | Italy | 22 September 1930 (age 74) | CP | 28 June 1988 John Paul II | Archbishop of Naples |
| 27 | Edmund Casimir Szoka | United States | 14 September 1927 (age 77) | CP | 28 June 1988 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State |
| 28 | László Paskai OFM | Hungary | 8 May 1927 (age 77) | CP | 28 June 1988 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Esztergom–Budapest |
| 29 | Christian Wiyghan Tumi | Cameroon | 15 October 1930 (age 74) | CP | 28 June 1988 John Paul II | Archbishop of Douala |
| 30 | Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi CICM | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3 December 1930 (age 74) | CP | 28 June 1991 John Paul II | Archbishop of Kinshasa |
| 31 | Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez | Dominican Republic | 31 October 1936 (age 68) | CP | 28 June 1991 John Paul II | Archbishop of Santo Domingo |
| 32 | Roger Michael Mahony | United States | 27 February 1936 (age 69) | CP | 28 June 1991 John Paul II | Archbishop of Los Angeles |
| 33 | Camillo Ruini | Italy | 19 February 1931 (age 74) | CP | 28 June 1991 John Paul II | Vicar General for Rome and Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran |
| 34 | Henri Schwery | Switzerland | 14 June 1932 (age 72) | CP | 28 June 1991 John Paul II | Bishop emeritus of Sion |
| 35 | Georg Maximilian Sterzinsky | Germany | 9 February 1936 (age 69) | CP | 28 June 1991 John Paul II | Archbishop of Berlin |
| 36 | Miloslav Vlk | Czech Republic | 17 May 1932 (age 72) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Prague |
| 37 | Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi | Japan | 17 June 1928 (age 76) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Tokyo |
| 38 | Julius Darmaatmadja SJ | Indonesia | 20 December 1934 (age 70) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Jakarta |
| 39 | Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino | Cuba | 18 October 1936 (age 68) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of San Cristóbal de la Habana |
| 40 | Emmanuel Wamala | Uganda | 15 December 1926 (age 78) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Kampala |
| 41 | William Henry Keeler | United States | 4 March 1931 (age 74) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Baltimore |
| 42 | Jean-Claude Turcotte | Canada | 26 June 1936 (age 68) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Montreal |
| 43 | Ricardo María Carles Gordó | Spain | 24 September 1926 (age 78) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Barcelona |
| 44 | Adam Joseph Maida | United States | 18 March 1930 (age 75) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Detroit |
| 45 | Vinko Puljić | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8 September 1945 (age 59) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Vrhbosna |
| 46 | Armand Gaetan Razafindratandra | Madagascar | 7 August 1925 (age 79) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Antananarivo |
| 47 | Juan Sandoval Íñiguez | Mexico | 28 March 1933 (age 72) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop of Guadalajara |
| 48 | Salvatore De Giorgi | Italy | 6 September 1930 (age 74) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Palermo |
| 49 | Antonio María Rouco Varela | Spain | 20 August 1936 (age 68) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Madrid |
| 50 | Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic | Canada | 27 January 1930 (age 75) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Toronto |
| 51 | Dionigi Tettamanzi | Italy | 14 March 1934 (age 71) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Milan |
| 52 | Polycarp Pengo | Tanzania | 5 August 1944 (age 60) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam |
| 53 | Christoph Schönborn OP | Austria | 22 January 1945 (age 60) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Vienna |
| 54 | Norberto Rivera Carrera | Mexico | 6 June 1942 (age 62) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Mexico |
| 55 | Francis Eugene George OMI | United States | 16 January 1937 (age 68) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Chicago |
| 56 | Marian Jaworski | Poland | 21 August 1926 (age 78) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Lviv |
| 57 | Jānis Pujats | Latvia | 14 November 1930 (age 74) | CP | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Archbishop of Riga |
| 58 | Ivan Dias | India | 14 April 1936 (age 68) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Bombay |
| 59 | Geraldo Majella Agnelo | Brazil | 19 October 1933 (age 71) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia |
| 60 | Pedro Rubiano Sáenz | Colombia | 13 September 1932 (age 72) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Bogotá |
| 61 | Theodore Edgar McCarrick | United States | 7 July 1930 (age 74) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Washington |
| 62 | Desmond Connell | Ireland | 24 March 1926 (age 79) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Dublin |
| 63 | Audrys Juozas Bačkis | Lithuania | 1 February 1937 (age 68) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Vilnius |
| 64 | Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa ISch | Chile | 5 September 1933 (age 71) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Santiago de Chile |
| 65 | Julio Terrazas Sandoval CSsR | Bolivia | 7 March 1936 (age 69) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| 66 | Wilfrid Fox Napier OFM | South Africa | 8 March 1941 (age 64) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Durban |
| 67 | Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga SDB | Honduras | 29 December 1942 (age 62) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Tegucigalpa |
| 68 | Bernard Agré | Ivory Coast | 2 March 1926 (age 79) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Abidjan |
| 69 | Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne | Peru | 28 December 1943 (age 61) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Lima |
| 70 | Francisco Álvarez Martínez | Spain | 14 July 1925 (age 79) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Toledo |
| 71 | Cláudio Hummes OFM | Brazil | 8 August 1934 (age 70) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of São Paulo |
| 72 | Varkey Vithayathil CSsR | India | 29 May 1927 (age 77) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Major Archbishop of Ernakulam–Angamaly (Syro-Malabar Church) |
| 73 | Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ | Argentina | 17 December 1936 (age 68) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Buenos Aires |
| 74 | José da Cruz Policarpo | Portugal | 26 February 1936 (age 69) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Patriarch of Lisbon |
| 75 | Severino Poletto | Italy | 18 March 1933 (age 72) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Turin |
| 76 | Cormac Murphy-O'Connor | United Kingdom | 24 August 1932 (age 72) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of Westminster |
| 77 | Edward Michael Egan | United States | 2 April 1932 (age 73) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Archbishop of New York |
| 78 | Lubomyr Husar MSU | Ukraine | 26 February 1933 (age 72) | CP | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Major Archbishop of Kyiv–Galicia (Ukrainian Greek Church) |
| 79 | Karl Lehmann | Germany | 16 May 1936 (age 68) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Bishop of Mainz |
| 80 | Angelo Scola | Italy | 7 November 1941 (age 63) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Patriarch of Venice |
| 81 | Anthony Olubunmi Okogie | Nigeria | 16 June 1936 (age 68) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Lagos |
| 82 | Bernard Panafieu | France | 26 January 1931 (age 74) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Marseille |
| 83 | Gabriel Zubeir Wako | Sudan | 27 February 1941 (age 64) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Khartoum |
| 84 | Carlos Amigo Vallejo OFM | Spain | 23 August 1934 (age 70) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Seville |
| 85 | Justin Francis Rigali | United States | 19 April 1935 (age 69) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Philadelphia |
| 86 | Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien | United Kingdom | 17 March 1938 (age 67) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh |
| 87 | Eusébio Oscar Scheid SCI | Brazil | 8 December 1932 (age 72) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro |
| 88 | Ennio Antonelli | Italy | 18 November 1936 (age 68) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Florence |
| 89 | Tarcisio Bertone SDB | Italy | 2 December 1934 (age 70) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Genoa |
| 90 | Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson | Ghana | 11 October 1948 (age 56) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Cape Coast |
| 91 | Telesphore Placidus Toppo | India | 15 October 1939 (age 65) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Ranchi |
| 92 | George Pell | Australia | 8 June 1941 (age 63) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Sydney |
| 93 | Josip Bozanić | Croatia | 20 March 1949 (age 56) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Zagreb |
| 94 | Jean-Baptiste Phạm Minh Mẫn | Vietnam | 5 March 1934 (age 71) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City |
| 95 | Rodolfo Quezada Toruño | Guatemala | 8 March 1932 (age 73) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Guatemala |
| 96 | Philippe Barbarin | France | 17 October 1950 (age 54) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Lyon |
| 97 | Péter Erdő | Hungary | 25 June 1952 (age 52) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Esztergom–Budapest |
| 98 | Marc Ouellet PSS | Canada | 8 June 1944 (age 60) | CP | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archbishop of Quebec |
| 99 | Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez | Chile | 23 December 1926 (age 78) | CD | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (Protodeacon) |
| 100 | Darío Castrillón Hoyos | Colombia | 4 July 1929 (age 75) | CD | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei |
| 101 | James Francis Stafford | United States | 26 July 1932 (age 72) | CD | 21 February 1998 John Paul II | Major Penitentiary |
| 102 | Agostino Cacciavillan | Italy | 14 August 1926 (age 78) | CD | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | President emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See |
| 103 | Sergio Sebastiani | Italy | 11 April 1931 (age 73) | CD | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See |
| 104 | Zenon Grocholewski | Poland | 11 October 1939 (age 65) | CD | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education |
| 105 | José Saraiva Martins CMF | Portugal | 6 January 1932 (age 73) | CD | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints |
| 106 | Crescenzio Sepe | Italy | 2 June 1943 (age 61) | CD | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples |
| 107 | Mario Francesco Pompedda | Italy | 18 April 1929 (age 75) | CD | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | Prefect emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura |
| 108 | Walter Kasper | Germany | 5 March 1933 (age 72) | CD | 21 February 2001 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity |
| 109 | Jean-Louis Tauran | France | 5 April 1943 (age 61) | CD | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church |
| 110 | Renato Raffaele Martino | Italy | 23 November 1932 (age 72) | CD | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace |
| 111 | Francesco Marchisano | Italy | 25 June 1929 (age 75) | CD | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter and President of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See |
| 112 | Julián Herranz Casado | Spain | 31 March 1930 (age 75) | CD | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts |
| 113 | Javier Lozano Barragán | Mexico | 26 January 1933 (age 72) | CD | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers |
| 114 | Stephen Fumio Hamao | Japan | 9 March 1930 (age 75) | CD | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People |
| 115 | Attilio Nicora | Italy | 16 March 1937 (age 68) | CD | 21 October 2003 John Paul II | President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See |

### Not in attendance

| Rank | Name | Country | Born | Order | Consistory | Office | Reason for absence | Ref. |
| 1 | Jaime Lachica Sin | Philippines | 31 August 1928 (age 76) | CP | 24 May 1976 Paul VI | Archbishop emeritus of Manila | Health (illness) | |
| 2 | Adolfo Antonio Suárez Rivera | Mexico | 9 January 1927 (age 78) | CP | 26 November 1994 John Paul II | Archbishop emeritus of Monterrey | Health (illness) | |

## Cardinal electors by continent and by country

The 115 attending cardinal electors were from 52 countries on all six inhabited continents. The countries with the greatest number of cardinal electors were Italy (twenty), the United States (eleven) and, jointly, Germany and Spain (six each).