Petaling Jaya: Bangladesh and Malaysia will have their first ever Catholic cardinalw come next month.
Archbishop Anthony Soter Fernandez, the former head of the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese, was among the 17 prelates named by Pope Francis on October 9 to be elevated to the second highest rank within the Catholic hierarchy.
According to Vatican Radio, the official broadcasting service of the Vatican, the ceremony to elevate them, known as a consistory, would be held on Nov 19.
Out of the 17 prelates, 13 are under 80 years old and thus eligible to vote in the conclave that will one day choose Francis’ successor, The star online reported.
The 84-year-old Fernandez is one of the four who will not be allowed to enter the conclave, and therefore unable to take part in electing a new pope when the time comes.
He is among three Asian cardinals appointed this round, the others being Archbishop John Ribat from Papua New Guinea and Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario from Bangladesh.
Fenandez began his 50-year career in the priesthood after being ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Penang in 1966 and then becoming a bishop of the diocese in 1978.
He was later appointed as the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese’s second Archbishop in 1983, retiring 20 years later in 2003.
Francis made the announcement during his weekly Sunday address, saying he would be appointing the 17 new cardinals, adding that they hailed from five continents.
This is the third time Francis has appointed new cardinals since his election in 2013.
The other three cardinals above 80 come from Albania, Italy and Lesotho.
The new cardinal-electors, who are below 80 years of age, come from Italy, the Central African Republic, Spain, the US, Brazil, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Belgium, Mauritius, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.