Archbishop Prospero Grech, an Augustinian scholar and professor of hermeneutics, is less than 24 hours away from being made Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.

He will be Malta’s second-ever Cardinal as well as the first Augustinian Cardinal in over a century. A discreet man who relatively few Maltese had heard of prior to his nomination to become Cardinal, he is a renowned theologian within Vatican circles.

Archbishop Grech was one of 22 men nominated by the Pope last month. He was ordained as Archbishop two weeks ago at St John’s Co-Cathedral by the Archbishop of Malta, Paul Cremona.

21 of the men will be appointed during tomorrow’s consistory. The 22nd appointee, German Jesuit Father Karl Josef Becker, will not be present due to ill-health and will be made Cardinal privately at a later date.

The Cardinal-elects will spend the rest of today with the Pope, in a day of prayer and reflection designed to prepare them for their new role as Princes of the Catholic Church.

A number of Maltese well-wishers and relatives of the Cardinal-Elect have made the trip to Rome and will be present during tomorrow’s ceremony. Tomorrow afternoon, the new Cardinals will spend two hours receiving and meeting with members of the public.

A number of Maltese dignitaries are also expected at tomorrow's ceremony. President George Abela, Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg, Archbishop Paul Cremona and Gozo Bishop will all be in attendance.

The consistory – a gathering of the College of Cardinals and the Pope – will be a slightly modified version of the traditional ceremony. Prayers from ancient Roman liturgies will be used and one of the Cardinal-Elects, American Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, is expected to address the College of Cardinals following his ordination.

This is the fourth time Pope Benedict XVI has created new Cardinals. The addition of these 22 men will also mean that the majority of the existing College of Cardinals will have been nominated by the current Pope.

Cardinal-elect Grech’s age means that he will not be permitted to vote in an eventual conclave to elect a new Pope. Cardinals must be under 80 years old to vote.

Full story in The Times tomorrow.

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