I’ve often wondered why Cardinals have their title between the first and last name, as in John Cardinal O’Connor. I find it annoying. Well, this Wikipedia explanation makes sense (though it’s still a little annoying):
For cardinals, use “{name if known} Cardinal {surname}]]”. For example, Giuseppe Cardinal Siri not Cardinal Guiseppe Siri This format avoids problems associated with historical cardinals whose first names have long since been forgotten; they can be entered as “Cardinal {surname}” and adapted later if and when their first name has been unearthed. It also has the benefit of keeping the cardinal surname together for search purposes. This is the format officially used by the Roman Catholic Church to refer to its cardinals. Since Vatican II, an alternative version, placing the word ‘Cardinal’ before the first name has grown in popularity. However as the great majority of cardinals predate this change, that format would require a complete change in all cardinal titles before 1965 and is impractical.
