The word “Cardinal” comes from the Latin word “Cardo” which means a hinge. Originally the term cardinal was used to designate a priest who held a fixed and permanent appointment to a church in Rome. He was a 'hinge' in the sense that, like a hinge that links a door to the doorpost, he became a link between the Church and the people.
In the 4th century, priests permanently appointed to 28 Roman parish churches were called 'Cardinal Priests'. They were to function also as counsellors to the Pope and assist him in the administration of the Church. They were all priests, not bishops. Subsequently, the deacons of the 14 regions into which Rome was divided who had charge of works of charity, like the original deacons (Acts 6:1-6) were also given the title of cardinal. They were 'Cardinal Deacons'. Today Cardinal Deacons are titular bishops assigned to full-time service in the Roman Curia. After being a Cardinal Deacon for ten years, a Cardinal may transfer to the Order of Cardinal Priests. The first Cardinal Deacon announces the name of the newly elected Pontiff. In the past, laymen too were appointed as Cardinals. The last layman to be a Cardinal was Giacomo Antolenni (1806-1876) who served as Papal Secretary of State under Pope Pius IX (1846-1878).
It was much later after the appointment of deacons as Cardinals that Bishops came to be called Cardinals. The Bishops of six dioceses in the suburban districts of Rome (suburbicarian bishops) became associated with the Pope in church government, thus becoming the first Cardinal Bishops. The present law of the Church states: “Those to be promoted Cardinals are men freely elected by the Roman Pontiff, who are at least in the order of priesthood...; those who are not already bishops must receive Episcopal consecration” (Can. 351, Sec. 1).
At present the College of Cardinals is divided into three orders: Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priests and Cardinal Deacons. Cardinal bishops include the titular bishops of the suburbicarian Sees of Rome (Ostia Palestrina, Porto and Santa Rufma, Albano, Velletri-Segni, Frascati, Sabina-Poggio Mireteto) and the Eastern Patriarchs. “This grading”, says Fr. Don Peter, former Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Colombo, “is representative of the ancient presbyterium of the Church in Rome”. Today when a Cardinal is appointed, the Pope assigns to him the title of a Church in Rome according to grade.
In the 12th century, the number of Cardinal Deacons was raised from 14 to 18, so that with the 6 Cardinal Bishops and the 28 Cardinal Priests, the number of Cardinals was 52. In the sixteenth century Pope Leo X (1513-1521) raised the number to 65. Towards the end of the same century,Pope Sixtus V (1585 - 1590), by the Constitution Postquam Verus of 1586 set the maximum number of Cardinals at 70 (6 Cardinal Bishops, 50 Cardinal Priests and 14 Cardinal Deacons). This figure remained unchanged for nearly four centuries until in our time Pope John XXIIIraised it to 75 and later increased it still further. His successor, Paul VI increased the number to 120. The maximum number of cardinal electors must not exceed 120. However, Pope John Paul II temporarily waived the papal elector limit of 120 cardinals to meet the needs of the papacy and the Universal Church today.
The duties and functions of Cardinals are summed up in Canon 349 of the 1983 Code of Cannon Law: “The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church constitute a special college, whose prerogative it is to elect the Roman Pontiff in accordance with the terms of a. special law”. The right to elect the Roman Pontiff belongs solely to the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church with the exception of those who, at the time of entrance into the conclave, have already completed their eightieth year of age. After a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church has been created and announced in a consistory, he, by that very fact, immediately has the right to elect the Pontiff, even though the biretta has not yet been imposed on him. However, Cardinals who have been canonically deposed or who, with the consent of the Roman Pontiff, have renounced the cardinalitial dignity, do not possess this right. Furthermore, the Sacred College of Cardinals may not, during the vacancy of the Holy See, reinstate or rehabilitate them. The Constitution Ubi Periculum was confirmed by the decree Ne Romani of the Council of Vienne in 1311; it forbade the Cardinals, while the Holy See is vacant, from dealing with any matter other than the election of the pope. The Cardinals are also available to the Roman Pontiff, either acting collegially, when they are summoned together to deal with questions of major importance, or acting individually, that is, in the offices which they hold in assisting the Roman Pontiff especially in the daily care of the universal Church. Cardinals provide their advice to the Pope collegially in consistories (C. 353) and collectively in general meetings of the Cardinals. They also head various offices of the Roman Curia or serve on the various congregations of the Curia even if their full-time responsibility is to pastor a particular church elsewhere in the world.
The title Eminentissimus, 'Your Eminence', was one of the titles, of the Byzantine emperor and thence passed to the Holy Roman Emperor, from which it afterward passed to leaders in his court. Apparently at Richelieu's suggestion, URBAN VIII on June 10, 1630 restricted it to cardinals, who until then were usually entitled 'most illustrious' and 'most revered', to the three ecclesiastical electors of the Holy Roman Empire, and to the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, who bear the title to this day, the only laymen so honoured. Since the time of BONIFACE VII (1294-1303), Cardinals have worn scarlet robes. The red hat dates back to the time of INNOCENT IV (1243-1254); in November 1246, while meeting with the King of France at cluny, INNOCENT IV conferred the red hat on his Cardinals. In 1464, PAUL II (1464-1471) decided that Cardinals should wear red skull caps during sacred ceremonies to distinguish them from other prelates. Cardinals have the faculty to hear confessions everywhere in the world without restriction and are exempt from the jurisdiction of local bishops.
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