Welcome Back to Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe OP

An alumnus and Honorary Fellow of St John's, His Eminence Timothy Radcliffe OP is the College's first cardinal.

After studying Theology at St John's, Radcliffe entered the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest. In 1992, he was elected Master of the Dominican Order, an office he held until 2001. He is the only member of the Order's English Province to have been elected Master.

Radcliffe was elevated to the rank of cardinal by the late Pope Francis in December 2024 at St. Peter’s Basilica. Assigned Cardinal Protector of Chiesa dei Santi Nomi di Gesù e Maria, Radcliffe's elevation brought the current number of English cardinals to four.

Following the death of Pope Francis in April 2025, Radcliffe and other members of the College of Cardinals participated in the papal conclave that elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo XIV.

The President and Senior Members of St John's were honoured to welcome Cardinal Radcliffe back to St John's so soon after the conclusion of the conclave.