Pope John Paul II died in the Vatican on April 2, 2005. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, bishop of the title of the suburbicarian sees of Ostia and Velletri-Segni, dean of the College of Cardinals, was chosen his successor. He took the name Benedict XVI. One-hundred and fifteen of the one-hundred-seventeen cardinal electors participated in the conclave to elect the new pope. It has been the most numerous conclave in the history of the Church. Two cardinal electors could not attend for health reasons. Sixty-six cardinals could not participate in the election for having turned eighty years of age. Seventy-seven votes were required to be elected by two-thirds of the electors and fifty-eight to be elected by an absolute majority of them. The date in parentheses indicates the year in which they were promoted to the cardinalate.

- Joseph Ratzinger, bishop of the title of the suburbicarian sees of Ostia and Velletri-Segni, dean of the College of Cardinals (1977). (Elected Pope Benedict XVI)
- Angelo Sodano, bishop of the title of the suburbicarian see of Albano, vice-dean of the College of Cardinals (1991).
- Alfonso López Trujillo, bishop of the title of the suburbicarian see of Frascati (1983).
- Giovanni Battista Re, bishop of the title of the suburbicarian see of Sabina e Poggio Mirteto (2001).
- Ignace Moussa I Daoud, patriarch emeritus of Antioch of the Syrians (2001).

- Jorge Medina Estévez, deacon of S. Saba, protodeacon (1998).
- Darío Castrillón Hoyos, deacon of SS. Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano (1998).
- James Francis Stafford, deacon of Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola (1998).
- Agostino Cacciavillan, deacon of Ss. Angeli Custodi a Città Girardino (2001).
- Sergio Sebastiani, deacon of S. Eustachio (2001).
- Zenon Grocholewski, deacon of S. Nicola in Carcere (2001).
- José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F., deacon of Nostra Signora del S. Cuore (2001).
- Crescenzio Sepe, deacon of Dio Padre misericordioso (2001).
- Mario Francesco Pompedda, deacon of Annunciazione della B.V.M. a Via Ardeatina (2001).
- Walter Kasper, deacon of Ognissanti in Via Appia Nuova (2001).
- Jean-Louis Tauran, deaconry of S. Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine (2003).
- Renato Raffaele Martino, deaconry of S. Francesco di Paola ai Monti (2003).
- Francesco Marchisano, deaconry of S. Lucia del Gonfalone (2003).
- Julián Herranz Casado, Opus Dei, deaconry of S. Eugenio (2003).
- Javier Lozano Barragán, deaconry of S. Michele Arcangelo (2003).
- Stephen Fumio Hamao, deaconry of S. Giovanni Bosco in via Tuscolana (2003).
- Attilio Nicora, deaconry of S. Filippo Neri in Eurosia (2003).

The following cardinal electors were not able to participate in the conclave for reasons of health:

- Jaime Lachica Sin, title of S. Maria ai Monti, archbishop emeritus of Manila, Philippines (1976).
- Adolfo Antonio Suárez Rivera, title of Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario, archbishop emeritus of Monterrey, México (1994).

The following cardinals were unable to participate in the conclave for being older than eighty years of age, according to No. 33 of the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, issued by Pope John Paul II on February 22, 1996:

CARDINAL ELECTORS BY CONTINENT BY COUNTRY

AFRICA (11) - (10)
Nigeria 2
Cameroun 1
Democratic Republic of Congo 1
Ghana 1
Ivory Coast 1
Madagascar 1
South Africa 1
Sudan 1
Tanzania 1
Uganda 1

AMERICA (34) - (14)
United States of America 11
Brazil 4
Canada 3
Colombia 3
México 3
Chile 2
Argentina 1
Bolivia 1
Cuba 1
Dominican Republic 1
Guatemala 1
Honduras 1
Nicaragua 1
Perú 1

ASIA (10) - (7)
India 3
Japan 2
Philippines 1
Indonesia 1
Syria 1
Thailand 1
Viêt Nam 1

EUROPE (58) - (20)
Italy 20
Germany 6
Spain 6
France 5
Poland 3
Portugal 2
Hungary 2
Ukraine 2
Austria 1
Belgium 1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1
Croatia 1
Czech Republic 1
England 1
Ireland 1
Latvia 1
Lithuania 1
Netherlands 1
Scotland 1
Switzerland 1

OCEANIA (2) - (2)
Australia 1
New Zealand 1

SUMMARY
AFRICA - 11 cardinals from 10 countries (9%)
AMERICA - 34 cardinals from 14 countries (30%)
ASIA - 10 cardinals from 7 countries (9%)
EUROPE - 58 cardinals from 20 countries (50%)
OCEANIA - 2 cardinals from 2 countries (2%)

TOTAL - 115 cardinals from 53 countries

CARDINAL ELECTORS BY THE YEAR OF THE CONSISTORY IN WHICH THEY WERE CREATED

1976 - 1
1977 - 1
1979 - 2
1983 - 8
1985 - 8
1988 - 6
1991 - 7
1994 - 11
1998 - 14
2001 - 33
2003 - 24

Total - 115

CARDINAL ELECTORS MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDER

Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) - 4
Society of Jesus (S.J.) - 3
Pious Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians of Don Bosco - S.D.B.) - 3
Sacerdotal Society of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei - 2
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (C.SS.R.) - 2
Order of Saint Dominic (O.P.) - 1
Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (C.I.C.M.) - 1
Congregations of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (C.M.F.) - 1
Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) - 1
Institute of the Fathers of Schönstatt - 1
Congregation of Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (S.C.I. ) - 1
Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice (P.S.S.) - 1
Congregation of the Monks Studitas of Ukraine (M.S.U.) - 1

Total - 22 (19%)

©1998-2008 Salvador Miranda.