Pope Francis put his first stamp on the group at the top of the Roman Catholic hierarchy on Sunday, naming 19 new cardinals from around the world.

Cardinals are the pope's closest advisors.

Sixteen of the new appointees are "cardinal electors," which means they'll be eligible to elect the next pope.

Reuters Vatican correspondent Philip Pullella says it's important to point out that Francis has only included four current Vatican officials in the group of "cardinal electors."

SOUNDBITE: Reuters Vatican correspondent Philip Pullella (English):

"This is not surprising because Francis has said that he doesn't want a Church made up of career diplomats or career priests or career cardinals, that the Church is around the world. So most of these are actually working archbishops who run big dioceses."

Half of the new cardinals are non-Europeans, which signifies the importance Francis attaches to the developing world. He is the first Latin American pope and t