Pope Francis has appointed 17 new cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, 13 of whom are under 80 years-old making them eligible to replace him in future.

They come from Italy, Central African Republic, Spain, the US, Brazil, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Belgium, Mauritius, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.

At the ceremony he said an ‘epidemic of animosity’ against people of other races and religions was hurting the weakest in society, urging caution against the rise of populist nationalism.