suburban Roman villa whose foundations remain under the church and whose audience hall became the ecclesiastical basilica. The most ancient reference to such a Roman church is in the Apology against the Arians of Athanasius in the fourth century, which speaks of a council of bishops assembled "in the place where the Priest Vitus held his congregation". By the end of the 5th century such churches numbered 25, as is confirmed by the Liber Pontificalis. The same number, though with different identities, is given in the reports of councils held in Rome in 499 and 595. In 1120, however, the number is given as 28. In modern times, many more have received the status of "tituli" or titular churches, while others over the centuries have been abandoned. Some of the latter have been demolished by natural events, war or urban development. In 1059, the right of electing the pope was reserved to the bishops of the seven suburbicarian sees, the priests in charge of the "tituli" churches, and the clergy in charge of the deaconries. These were known collectively as the cardinals. Given the importance of this privilege, the term "cardinal" came to be understood as bestowing high rank. Accordingly, when it became customary to attribute for honorific reasons the title of cardinal to ecclesiastics living outside Rome, each was assigned theoretical responsibility for one or other of the Roman churches, a legal fiction establishing their position within the Pope's diocese of Rome. It was understood that they had no obligation to reside in Rome, and so were not personally responsible for the pastoral care of the titular churches assigned to them. This practice is still in force today. Present situation Today, the cardinal priests have a loose patronal relationship with their titular churches, whose cardinal protector they are called. Their names and coats of arms are inscribed on plaques in the churches, they are expected to preach at the church occasionally when they are in Rome, and many raise funds for their church's maintenance and restoration, but they no longer participate in the actual management of the churches. There are (as of 2015) 160 presbyteral titular churches. Many cardinals are assigned to tituli with some connection to their home see or country, such as the national churches in Rome. For example, Jean-Claude Turcotte, former archbishop of Montreal, was made Cardinal Priest of the Santi Martiri Canadesi (Holy Canadian Martyrs);