Vatican City ? Pope Benedict XVI named his first batch of cardinals Wednesday, sending a strong political messages with nominations in Hong Kong and Venezuela and promoting two Americans with experience in the church sex abuse scandal.

Benedict named 15 new “princes” of the Roman Catholic Church during his weekly general audience, 12 of whom are younger than 80 and thus eligible to vote in the conclave that will one day elect the pope’s successor. He said the prelates, who also include sentimental favorite Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, Pope John Paul II’s longtime private secretary, would receive their red hats at a Vatican ceremony March 24.

The cardinals come from 11 countries on five continents and include the archbishops of Boston; Krakow, Poland; Seoul, South Korea; Bordeaux, France; Bologna, Italy; Manila, Philippines; and Toledo, Spain.

Along with the Boston archbishop, Sean P. O’Malley, the other American selected was Archbishop William Levada, who has taken over Benedict’s old job as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.