In an effort to reach out to the developing world, Pope Francis has named 15 Cardinals who hail from 14 different nations. Their countries of origin are diverse, as they stem from places like Ethiopia, Tonga and Cape Verde as well as Vietnam and Sicily, but there is no American on the list. Incidentally, this is the second time he has not appointed any Americans as Cardinals.

All the cardinals on his list are below the age of 80 and hence, will be eligible to vote for the successor of Pope Francis. Apart from the 15 Cardinals, he has also appointed five bishops and archbishops, but their age does not allow them to take part in future votes for the next pope.

Ever since assuming office, Pope Francis has remained committed to root out corruption and inefficiency from the Curia. He is the first Latin American pope who has never worked in the Italian-dominated Curia before he was elected.

In spite of that, he has not shied from complaining about the gossiping, careerism, and bureaucratic power intrigues that afflict the Holy See. It may be recalled that at Christmas he had delivered his message to the Curia and highlighted the "15 Ailments of the Curia," which included a desire for power and hypocrisy.

He had sacked four of five Cardinals who sat on a panel that oversaw the Vatican Bank. The Vatican bank had been caught in a money-laundering row in 2010 after suspicious financial activity within the organization came to light.

The 15 new Cardinals are listed below:

Archbishop Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento, Italy

Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, of Santiago de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand

Archbishiop Manuel José Macario do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal

Archbishop Pierre Nguyên V?n Nhon of Hanoi, Vietnam

Bishop José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán of David, Panama

Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon, Burma

Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga

Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand

Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo, Italy

Archbishop Alberto Suàrez Inda of Morelia, Mexico

Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet of Montevideo, Uruguay

Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Vallodolid, Spain