Cardinals created by Francis

Pope Francis (r. 2013–2025) created cardinals at ten consistories held at roughly annual intervals beginning in 2014 and for the last time on 7 December 2024. The cardinals created by Francis include 163 cardinals from 76 countries, 25 of which had never been represented in the College of Cardinals. His appointments include the first Scandinavian since the Reformation, the first from Goa since an episcopal see was established there in 1533, the first from Latin America's indigenous peoples, the first from India's Dalit community, and the first active head of a religious congregation. He also appointed Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost in 2023, who later became Pope Leo XIV following Francis' death in May 2025.

Following the 2024 consistory, 110 of the cardinal electors had been appointed by Francis, 24 by Pope Benedict XVI, and 6 by Pope John Paul II. Each of Francis' consistories increased the number of cardinal electors from at or less than the set limit of 120 to a number higher than 120, as high as 140 in 2024, surpassing the record 135 set by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and 2003. Since 2 June 2023, two-thirds of the cardinal electors have been cardinals created by Francis. The December 2024 consistory increased that to about 79%, and some 81% of the electors who participated in the 2025 papal conclave were created by Francis.

Francis shifted membership in the College of Cardinals away from Europe. This means that the conclave that chose his successor was the first where Europeans did not account for a majority of electors, instead only making up 40% of electors.