Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals during a consistory. The duties of the cardinals are to attend the meetings of the Sacred College and to make themselves available individually if the Pope desires their counsel. Most cardinals have additional duties either leading many of the church's dioceses and archdioceses or running the Roman Curia.

Cardinals in popular culture

• Among others, Charlton Heston and Tim Curry have played Cardinal Richelieu in adaptations of The Three Musketeers.
• Orson Welles played Thomas Cardinal Wolsey in the 1966 screen adaptation of A Man for All Seasons.
• George Carlin played the fictional Cardinal Ignatius Glick in Kevin Smith's Dogma.