By Jose Kavi
New Delhi, Oct 6, 2024: Monsignor George Jacob Koovakad, who organizes the Pope’s overseas travels, is among 21 new cardinals Pope Francis announced on October 6.
Among the new Asian cardinals are Divine Word Archbishop Tarcisio Isao of Tokyo, Japan; Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of Kalookan , the Philippines; Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Tehran Ispahan, Iran, a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual; and Franciscan Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur, Oof Bogor, Indonesia
Monsignor Koovakad, a priest of the archdiocese of Changanacherry, joined the Vatican Diplomatic Service in 2006, after completing his formation at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.
The 51-year-old Syro-Malabar priest has served in Apostolic Nunciatures in Algeria, South Korea, Iran, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. Currently, he is an official in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. He began organizing the papal travels in 2021.
Monsignor Koovakad was born to Jacob and Thresiamma on August 11, 1973, in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala state. The Koovakad family belongs to the Lourde Matha Parish at Mammoodu in Changanacherry.
He completed his theological studies at St Thomas Minor Seminary, Kurichy; St Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Aluva; and Maria Mater Ecclesiae, Rome.
He was ordained a priest on July 24, 2004 by Archbishop Joseph Powathil of Changanacherry on July 24, 2004. He holds a doctorate in Canon Law from Rome. He had previously served as the assistant vicar in St Mary’s Church, Parel, Changanacherry.
Later, he pursued training for diplomatic service at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. In 2006, he began his diplomatic career at the Apostolic Nunciature in Algeria.
During the last Holy Week, Monsignor Koovakkad led services in his home parish at Mammoodu and visited the archdiocesan headquarters.
On September 2, 2023, Pope Francis video-called his 95-year-old grandmother Sosamma Antony after the Pope became concerned about her health following her battle with Covid-19.
During the brief conversation, the Pope and Sosamma exchanged jokes, greetings, and blessings, with Monsignor Koovakkad serving as the translator.
The cardinal-elect has served the diplomatic service in various key roles –secretary of the Nunciature in South Korea (2009–2012) and Iran (2012–2014).
He then became counsellor of the Nunciatures in Costa Rica (2014–2018) and Venezuela (2018–2020).
In 2020, he joined the secretariat of State of the Holy See, where he assumed responsibility for organizing the global travels of Pope Francis.
He has played a vital role in coordinating and managing the logistics of the Holy Father’s trips around the world, says Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India.
The archbishop hailed Monsignor Koovakad as “the proud son” of the archdiocese and pointed out that the elevation of a priest to cardinal is “unusual. At least in the Indian Church history.”
The prelate said the cardinal-elect “deserves it as he is a man of spiritual integrity and loyalty to the Church” and the new cardinal will be “a dynamic presence in the ecumenical Church.”
The ceremony to install the new cardinals will be held on December 8, the feast of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin.
It will be the 10th consistory called by Pope Francis after his election as the pontiff on March 13, 2013.
The new cardinals come from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Italy, Britain, Serbia, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, Ivory Coast and Algeria.
The among the new cardinals, 20 who are under 80 would be able to vote in the conclave to elect a new Pope after Pope Francis’s death or resignation.
By 2025, the Jubilee Year, the Catholic Church will have 140 cardinal electors, almost 80 percent of them chosen by Pope Francis.
Church observers say the presence of young cardinals increases the possibility that the next Pope will share the vision of Pope Francis for a more progressive, inclusive Church.
With inputs from Shyju Naduvathaniyil