Photos: How Pope Made Onaiyekan A Prince Of Catholic Church

85yrs old Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday officially named Nigeria’s Archbishop John Onaiyekan and five other non-European cardinals to the body that will elect his successor, saying the move underlined the Catholic Church’s diversity. (See more photos below)

68-year-old Onaiyekan of Nigeria, archbishop of Abuja, he is now a “papabile”, or potential pope. He is believed by many to have shown courage in the face of inter-faith hatred at a time when Nigeria faces deadly attacks against Christians by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram.

“In this consistory, I want to highlight … that the Church is the Church of all peoples,” the Pope said at the ceremony during which the new “princes of the Church” received scarlet red birettas and gold rings.

The six new cardinals are from Colombia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and the United States. They've join the elite body that advises the pope and elects his successor upon his death.