Pope Francis' announcement of new cardinals ranging from the youngest ever, aged 44, to the oldest at 99 years, shows the pontiff's affinity to expand the geographical diversity in the top echelons of the Catholic Church.

The cardinals will get their red hats at a consistory, which will be held on Dec. 8 at the Vatican.

The Pope's new move on Oct. 6 "shows his determination to reshape the group of churchmen who will elect his successor," CNN reported.

The Archbishop of Tehran Dominique Mathieu, a Belgian missionary, and CNN's Christopher Lamb speculated that Francis's decision to choose a cardinal in Iran is likely part of his desire "to push for dialogue with Islam and peace in the Middle East."

Francis also chose a Ukrainian bishop, Mykola Bychok, who, at 44, will be the youngest cardinal. He is based in Australia and ministers to Ukrainian Greek Catholic community members across Oceania.

By naming Bychok a cardinal, Francis confers his first red hat on the head of a Ukrainian Greek Catholic, opting to overlook its primate, Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv–Galicia, who had been critical of some of the Pope's remarks on the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to Vatican News.

Bychok's elevation will also give Australia its first cardinal following the death of Cardinal George Pell in January 2023.

"In typical Francis fashion, the move bypasses the major sees of Sydney and Melbourne, though the current leaders of those two dioceses who are more associated with the late Pell, who regularly quarrelled with Francis, were never expected to receive the honor.," wrote Vatican News.

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"More surprising is the decision to bypass Salesian Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, current president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, who has been deeply involved in the Pope's ongoing synod on synodality."

Geographic diversity is essential to the Argentinian-born head of the Catholic Church.

The 21 new cardinals announced on Oct.6 come from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Italy, Britain, Serbia, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, Ivory Coast and Algeria.

Among the new cardinals that Francis has named over his 11 years as pontiff, some two dozen have been the first ever chosen from their home countries, including Haiti, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, and Mongolia, Joshua McElwee of Reuters reported.

"The idea that the pope is capable of influencing his successor is not real," Alberto Melloni, a church historian at the University of Modena-Reggio Emilia was quoted as saying by Reuters. "It is not even his agenda."

"The fact that Francis generally avoids convening cardinals in Rome limits the amount of pre-conclave maneuvering," John Thavis, a former Rome bureau chief for the Catholic News Service, who has reported extensively on three papacies, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"The Pope's biggest influence on a future conclave will be in broadening participation and making the election of a pope a more global event."

According to Vatican News, with the ceremony for the new cardinals just nine days before his 88th birthday, Francis' latest power play ensures that the College of Cardinals — whose main job is to elect the next pope — is now overwhelmingly made of clergy of his choosing.

Cardinals enter into a secret conclave upon a pope's death or resignation.

Those under the age of 80 can vote on the next pope.

According to Vatican statistics, at least 67 countries now have cardinals who can vote in a conclave, compared to fewer than 50 countries when Francis was elected in 2013.