Since 1893, all of Milan’s archbishops have been named cardinals—until the present archbishop, Archbishop Mario Delpini, appointed by Pope Francis in 2017, but since repeatedly passed over in the naming of cardinals.

This year, Pope Francis named Bishop Oscar Cantoni of Como a cardinal; Como is a suffragan see of Milan, much as San Diego is a suffragan see of Los Angeles.

Asked by the bishops of Lombardy to deliver an address in praise of Cardinal Cantoni’s appointment, Archbishop Delpini attempted to refer to his own exclusion with humor. “Not even the Eternal Father knows what the Jesuits are thinking,” the prelate said in reference to Pope Francis. “The Archbishop of Milan already has plenty to do.”