College of Cardinals

council of high ranking Catholic officials which advises the Pope and chooses his successor

The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The College plays two roles in the church:participating in papal elections when the Holy See is vacant, and advising the Pope about Church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory.Historically, they were also the clergy of the city of Rome serving the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and were assigned duties in parishes of the city. The College has no ruling power except during the sede vacante period, where its powers are still extremely limited according to the Apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis.
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Noun
1. (Roman Catholic Church) the body of cardinals who advise the Pope and elect new Popes
(synonym) Sacred College
(hypernym) body
(part-holonym) Roman Catholic, Western Church, Roman Catholic Church, Church of Rome, Roman Church
(member-meronym) cardinal
(classification) Roman Catholic, Western Church, Roman Catholic Church, Church of Rome, Roman Church

IL COLLEGIO DEI CARDINALI