College of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals, formerly styled Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.

Functions

A function of the college is to advise the Pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory, a term referring to the Roman Emperor's crown council. It also attends various protocollary functions, as during the canonization process.

It also convenes on the death or resignation of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor, but is then restricted to eligible Cardinals under the age limit (which is a fairly recent feature). Yet all Cardinals remain known as Princes of the Church, even over the eligible age.

The college has no ruling power except during the sede vacante (papal vacancy) period, and even then its powers are extremely limited by the terms of the current law, which is laid down in the Apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis (1996) and the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State.