Vatican City ? Pope Benedict XVI gave each of his 15 new cardinals a golden ring to symbolize their renewed vows of fidelity to the church during a Mass on Saturday on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Tens of thousands of people – family, friends and supporters – packed a sun-drenched St. Peter’s square, waving flags from the cardinals’ 11 homelands and toting banners adorned with their pictures.

In his first consistory, Benedict has selected churchmen from Spain, Slovenia, South Korea and France to join the elite College of Cardinals – the “princes” of the Roman Catholic Church. The cardinals’ primary task is electing a pope but they also are called on to advise the pontiff on running the church.

During Mass, the German pontiff placed a golden ring embossed with a crucifix and engraved with Benedict’s papal seal on each man’s right hand. The pope said the ring was a symbol of the cardinals’ commitment and fidelity to the church, like the rings exchanged by a bride and groom.