ROME (AP) — Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals and further cementing his mark on the group of prelates who will one day elect his successor.

Among those named by history’s first Latin American pope were the heads of several major dioceses and archdioceses in the South America. They include the heads of the Catholic Church in Santiago del Estero, Argentina; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Lima, Peru.

The new cardinals will get their red hats at a ceremony, known as a consistory, on Dec. 8, an important feast day on its own that officially kicks off the Christmas season in Rome.

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