Texan named Catholic cardinal

VATICAN CITY — Texas is getting its first Roman Catholic cardinal — a nod to the influx of faithful from Mexico and Central America.

Archbishop Daniel DiNardo was among 23 new cardinals appointed Wednesday by Pope Benedict XVI, who tapped Vatican officials, academics, diplomats and archbishops from five continents. Eighteen of the new cardinals are younger than 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave; five others, including the patriarch of Baghdad, were named in recognition of their service to the church.

The appointments of DiNardo and another American bring the number of U.S. cardinals to 17 and increase the American contingent's clout in any conclave to elect a future pontiff.

Benedict said he would give them all their red hats at a Vatican ceremony Nov. 24.

Like many Catholic dioceses in the South, the Galveston-Houston area has witnessed a remarkable influx of the faithful from Mexico and Central America in recent years. There are about 7 million Roman Catholics in Texas, about 1.3 million of whom live in the Galveston-Houston archdiocese.

"It says something about Texas and how wonderful Texas is in the terms of the growth of our Catholic faith," said DiNardo, leader of the Galveston-Houston archdiocese.