15 new cardinals join elite band of papal advisers

Fifteen prelates from around the world joined the elite College of Cardinals in the Vatican today, becoming the newest advisers to the Pope who one day will be called on to elect his successor.

The beaming new “princes” of the church processed onto the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica to applause from a crowd of thousands in the square below, decked out for the first time in their crimson robes.