Pope Francis named 13 new Roman Catholic cardinals on Sunday, including nine who are eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor after his death or resignation.

The new cardinal electors, whom the pope listed in a surprise announcement while addressing pilgrims from his window overlooking St Peter’s Square, include Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington. He will become the first African-American to hold the rank.

The 13 new cardinals will be elevated to the high rank at a ceremony known as a consistory at the Vatican on November 28, and the selection of more cardinal electors increases the possibility that the next pope will be someone who will continue Francis’ policies.

Francis has now appointed about 57 per cent of cardinal electors, whose number rises to about 128 with the naming of the new cardinals. The others were appointed by Francis' two more conservative predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.

Church rules usually limit the number of cardinal electors to 120 but popes have bent that limit by naming more.

The nine new electors come from Italy, Africa, the US, Rwanda, the Philippines, Chile and Brunei.

The four non-electors, who will not be allowed to enter a conclave because they are over the age of 80, are being elevated to the high rank because of their long service to the Church.

They include Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, an Italian who has worked around the world and is one of the Church’s top experts on immigration.

Maskless in Rome

Pope Francis met the Spanish Prime Minister on Saturday at the Vatican, which has had a rash of Covid-19 infections confirmed in recent days, but neither man used a face a mask during the public part of their meeting.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wore a mask when he arrived in a Vatican courtyard. But everyone sat unmasked immediately before and after his closed-door talks with Francis at the Apostolic Palace, including during the speech the pontiff gave in Spanish to Sanchez and his entourage. The Vatican has said 13 Swiss Guards, members of the colourfully attired division of the Holy See’s security operations, recently tested positive for the coronavirus.