Dean of the College of Cardinals


The Dean of the College of Cardinals is the leader of the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. The position was established in the early 12th century.
The Dean presides over the College of Cardinals, serving as primus inter pares in the college. He always holds the rank of cardinal bishop. The Dean of the College of Cardinals is assisted by the Vice-Dean. Both are elected by and from the Cardinal Bishops who are not Eastern Catholic patriarchs and their election is subject to papal confirmation. Except for presiding, the Dean and Vice-Dean have no power over the other cardinals. In the order of precedence in the Catholic Church as the senior Cardinal Bishops, the Dean and Vice-Dean are placed second and third, respectively, after the pope.
The Dean is often, but not necessarily, the longest-serving member of the whole College. It had been customary for centuries for the longest-serving of the six cardinal bishops of suburbicarian sees to be Dean. This was required by canon law from 1917 until 1965, when Pope Paul VI empowered the six to elect the Dean from among their number. This election was a formality until the time of Pope John Paul II.
With a document dated 29 November and published on 21 December 2019, Pope Francis, when accepting the resignation of Cardinal Angelo Sodano as Dean, established that going forward the Dean of the College of Cardinals will serve a five-year term that can be renewed once. Sodano received the title "Dean Emeritus" upon resigning on 21 December 2019. In anticipation of the election of Sodano's successor, Francis said: "I am hoping they will elect someone who can carry this important responsibility full time." Previously the Dean held the position until death or resignation; there was no mandatory age of retirement.

Responsibilities

The dean summons the conclave for the purposes of electing a new pope following a death or resignation. The Dean presides over the daily meetings of the College of Cardinals in advance of the conclave and then presides over the conclave if his age does not prohibit his participation. The dean also has the responsibility of communicating the "news of the Pope's death to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See and to the Heads of the respective Nations". He is the public face of the Holy See until a new pope is elected. If he participates in the conclave, the dean asks the pope-elect if he accepts the election, and then asks the new pope what name he wishes to use. If the newly elected pope is not already a bishop, the dean ordains him a bishop.
The dean has "the title of the diocese of Ostia, together with that of any other church to which he already has a title," such as his suburbicarian diocese. This has been the case since 1914, by decree of Pope Pius X—previous deans had given up their suburbicarian see and taken the joint title of Ostia and Velletri, which were separated in that same 1914 decree.

Deans elected pope

Nine Deans have been elected pope: Anastasius IV, Lucius III, Gregory IX, Alexander IV, John XXI, Alexander VI, Paul III, Paul IV, and Benedict XVI.

List of Deans

The following is the list of Deans of the Sacred College of Cardinals, separated into three groups to account for the Western Schism, which ended after the Council of Constance. The earliest attested reference to the "College of Cardinals" is at the Council of Reims in 1148.
Each name in the following list includes years of birth and death, then comma-separated years of cardinalate and deanship.

Before the Western Schism

Elected Pope Anastasius IV in 1153
Elected Pope Lucius III in 1181
Elected Pope Gregory IX in 1227
Elected Pope Alexander IV in 1254
The obedience of Rome
The obedience of Avignon
The obedience of Pisa