Jesuit priests at the time of their solemn and final profession in the Society of Jesus promise to "never strive or ambition, not even indirectly, to be chosen or promoted to any prelacy or dignity in or outside the Society; and I will do my best never to consent to my election unless I am forced to do so by obedience to him who can order me under penalty of sin." (Constitutions S.J., Part X, N°6 [817])

Yet because of various reasons and in different circumstances—for example, need of a bishop in an area where the Church has still to be developed, recognition of a theologian's outstanding contribution to theological reflection, etc.—several Jesuits have been made bishops or even cardinals. In such cases they remain only nominally Jesuit, as they lose active and passive voice within the Order and are no longer under the obedience of the Superior General.^[1] In 2013 the first Jesuit pope was elected, Pope Francis.

The following is a complete list of contemporary living Jesuit cardinals.^[2] Three of them are above 80 years of age and thus are ineligible as a papal elector. Another four are not yet above the age of 80 and thus are currently eligible to serve as papal electors.

Current Jesuit Cardinals	Date of Birth Current Age	Elevated to Cardinal	Order
Pedro Cardinal Barreto, S. J. Archbishop of Huancayo Titular of Santi Pietro e Paolo a Via Ostiense	12 February 1944 79 years, 330 days	28 June 2018 Pope Francis	Cardinal-Priest
Michael F. Cardinal Czerny, S. J. Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Titular of San Michele Arcangelo a Pietralata	18 July 1946 77 years, 174 days	9 October 2019 Pope Francis	Cardinal-Priest
Julius Riyadi Cardinal Darmaatmadja, S. J. Archbishop Emeritus of Jakarta Titular of Sacro Cuore di Maria	20 December 1934 89 years, 19 days	26 November 1994 Pope John Paul II	Cardinal-Priest
Luis Cardinal Ladaria Ferrer, S. J. Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Titular of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius	19 April 1944 79 years, 264 days	28 June 2018 Pope Francis	Cardinal-Deacon
Jean-Claude Cardinal Hollerich, S. J. Archbishop of Luxembourg Titular of San Giovanni Crisostomo al Monte Sacro Alto	9 August 1958 65 years, 152 days	9 October 2019 Pope Francis	Cardinal-Priest
Sigitas Cardinal Tamkevičius, S. J. Archbishop Emeritus of Kaunas Titular of Sant'Angela Merici	7 November 1938 85 years, 62 days	9 October 2019 Pope Francis	Cardinal-Priest

+ The last Jesuit Cardinals to die were Ján Chryzostom Korec, who died on October 24, 2015, and Albert Vanhoye, who died on July 29, 2021.

References