New Delhi, October 4, 2023: Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo of Ranchi died on October 4 due to age-related ailments. He was 84.

Cardinal Toppo was unwell and “bedridden for the last few months” at the Constant Lievens Hospital & Research Center in Ranchi, said Auxiliary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas of Ranchi.

Cardinal Toppo was born on October 15, 1939, as the eighth of the ten children of an Oraon family in Jhargoan in Jhargaon, a remote village in Chainpur parish in Gumla district.

As a young boy, Telesphore received his lower primary education in their village. However, due to the absence of an upper primary school in any of the nearby villages, he had to travel to the distant village of Barwaynagar for his upper primary education.

Following his matriculation at Lievens Barve Boy’s Secondary School in Chainpur, he was inspired by the Belgian priests’ way of life and joined St. Albert’s Seminary.

He graduated with honors from St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi. He completed his M.A. in history from the University of Ranchi. Later, he continued with philosophical studies at St. Albert’s College, Ranchi. For his theological studies, he was deputed to the Pontifical Urban University in Rome.

On May 8, 1969, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Franciskus in Basel, Switzerland. He returned to India as a young priest and was assigned to teach at St. Joseph’s High School, Torpa.

He soon became the acting principal of the school. In 1976, he founded the Lievens’ Vocation Centre, Torpa, and became its pioneering director. Later, he was made the secretary to Archbishop Pius Kerketta, S.J., then the Archbishop of Ranchi.

On June 8, 1978, he was elected as the Bishop of Dumka and selected the motto, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” He was ordained Bishop of Dumka on October 7, 1978, by the late Archbishop Pius Kerketta at St. Teresa Girl’s School, Dudhani. On November 8, 1984, he was nominated by Pope John Paul II as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Ranchi. He was appointed as the Archbishop of Ranchi on August 7, 1985. The installation as Archbishop took place on August 25, 1985.

He was elected President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) for two terms (2001–2004 and 2011–2013). He was the President of the CBCI (2004-2008). Pope St. John Paul II honoured the thriving and blossoming Adivasi Church of Jharkhand by raising Archbishop Telesphore Toppo to the College of Cardinals on October 21, 2003.

He was the first and only Asian tribal to have been accorded such a distinguished ecclesiastical office. He participated in the conclave of April 2005, which elected Pope Benedict XVI and in the conclave of March 2013, which elected Pope Francis.

President Delegate of the 11th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church (October 2005). He was a member of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

Pope Francis named Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo, as his Special Envoy to the XI Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, (FABC) took place from November 28–December 4, 2016, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

In 2002 he received the Jharkhand Ratan Award for distinguished social work done in Jharkhand.

Endowed with exceptional perception and a sharp observation, Cardinal Toppo was a chosen instrument of God for guiding the marginalized as well as righteous living and religious thinking. He is a person dedicated to the service of the poor and needy.

His generosity, availability, and compassion have evidently made him an outstanding figure, respected by all people. His affectionately disarming personality won him friends and admirers in all circles. He is noted to be committed to and concerned for the growth of the church, solace for the poor and needy, and, in a very special way, the welfare and multidimensional progress of the Chotanagpur Tribals.

Cardinal Toppo is a person of manifold qualities, some inborn and others acquired through self-discipline and insightful observation. He is starkly down-to-earth and fiercely demanding for excellence. Orderliness and regularity are his hallmarks. His honesty, humility, simplicity, generosity, serenity, gentleness, courage, and self-confidence are the pearls of his great personality.

The spiritual life of Cardinal Toppo is extraordinarily simple and remarkable. He is a man of prayer and deep faith. His confidence in Christ and his union with the universal church is unshakable. His fondness for the Holy Eucharist, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and affectionate attachment to Mother Mary are the sources of his committed and inexhaustible personality. The source and secret of his energy solely lie in the holy sacraments and prayers. Regardless of pressing schedules and severe conditions of life, he never misses the Holy Eucharist, Rosary, or prayers of the Church.

He was a priest for 54 years, a bishop for 44 years and a cardinal for 19 years.