Seven New Hats

For the third time during the 17 months of his reign, Pope John XXIII last week added new members to the College of Cardinals. From 1586, when Pope Sixtus V reorganized the college, the traditional membership had been fixed at 70.

Two years ago Pope John broke through the old barrier by raising the number to 74; his latest appointments make it 85, with more red hats rumored in the offing.

Three of the new appointments are firsts, with international implications for the church--the first African Negro cardinal, the first Japanese, and the first Filipino.

Bishop Laurian Rugambwa, 47, was born a member of the Bahaya tribe in Tanganyika Territory, scion of a long line of chiefs, and he became a Christian, along with his father and mother, at the age of eight. Trained by the Roman Catholic missionary White Fathers, he was ordained a priest in 1943, and served as assistant pastor at the Rubya mission for five years before going to Rome for special studies in canon law at the Gregorian University. In 1951 he was named the first bishop of the new diocese of Rutabo in Tanganyika, became the youngest and most active of Africa's 25 black bishops.

Archbishop Peter Tatsuo Doi, 67, was born at Sendai, Japan, was baptized a Christian at twelve, ordained at the age of 28, and appointed Archbishop of Tokyo 16 years later. The church has been losing ground in Japan for lack of Japanese priests and trained personnel, and the Vatican hopes that a Japanese cardinal will stimulate the faith in Japan as well as rally Roman Catholics elsewhere in Asia.

Archbishop Rufino J. Santos, 51, a native of the village of Guagua in the Philippines, has ruled the archdiocese of Manila (3,800,000 Catholics out of a total 4,000,000 population) since 1953, and his elevation is no surprise. Philippine disappointment at not getting a cardinal at the last consistory was in fact so strong that the Vatican was forced to change its papal nuncio. Archbishop Santos was responsible for the reconstruction of Manila Cathedral, which was almost totally destroyed in the war.

Archbishop Bernard Jan Alfrink, 59, comes from The Netherlands town of Nijkerk. Five years ago he succeeded the late John Cardinal de Jong as Archbishop of Utrecht. The scholarly archbishop has been chief counselor to the pontifical commission for Biblical studies, contributes to scientific publications, heads The Netherlands' "Pax Christi" movement of Roman Catholic laymen. In addition to pleasing the Dutch, his appointment is expected to add an able member to the team of cardinals preparing for the forthcoming Ecumenical Council.

Archbishop Joseph Lefebvre, 67, was born in the French village of Tourcoing, near Lille, studied at Rome's Gregorian University (where he won the gold medal traditionally presented by the Pope to the graduate with the best grades). Since 1943 tall, jolly Joseph Lefebvre has been Archbishop of Bourges, made a favorable impression on the Pope when John was papal nuncio to France.

Bishop Luigi Traglia, 64, born in Albano, near Rome, has worked in the church's administrative headquarters, the Curia, for the past 30 years. As vice regent of the diocese of Rome, he was in charge of the recent synod of the Roman clergy (TIME, Feb. 8), has made an impressive record as a builder of churches and organizer of new parishes.

Monsignor Antonio Bacci, 74, was born in Giugnola, near Florence, and spent twelve years teaching at a Florence seminary before being taken into the Vatican Secretariat of State as an expert in Latin. As secretary of Briefs to Princes, he has prepared most of the Vatican's important Latin documents during the reigns of Pius XI, Pius XII and John XXIII. One of the taxing parts of the job has been to coin Latin versions of 20th century words --such as globus atomica vi displodens (atomic bomb), nicotianum fumum sugere (to smoke), ephemiridum notitiarum auceps (newspapermen).

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