 Although earlier cardinals had filled similar roles , " the existence of national protectorships was first openly and regularly recognized only " by Pope Julius II . The terms ' cardinal protector ' and ' cardinal procurator ' were " used very loosely and sometimes interchangeably during the fifteenth century " . The earliest reference to a ' cardinal protector ' of England dates from 1492 , but according to Wilkie , this results from a confusion between this office and that of cardinal procurator . 
