Bangladesh gets first Catholic cardinal as Archbishop D'Rozario, 16 others promoted by pope

Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario, the highest ranking priest of the Roman Catholic Church in the country, has been promoted to cardinal, the first ever to reach such a high position from Bangladesh.

Pope Francis on Sunday promoted D'Rozario and 16 other Roman Catholic prelates from around the world to the rank of cardinal, reported Reuters.

They include 13 who are under 80 years old and thus eligible to succeed him one day.

Cardinals, who wear red hats and are known as "princes of the Church", are the most senior in the Roman Catholic hierarchy after the Pope and serve as his principal advisers around the world and in the Vatican.

Naming new cardinals is one of the most significant powers of the papacy, allowing a pontiff to put his stamp on the future of the 1.2-billion-member global Church.

Cardinals under 80, known as cardinal-electors, can enter a secret conclave to choose a new pope from their own ranks once Francis dies or resigns.

Francis, the former cardinal-archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected in a conclave on March 13, 2013.

Apart from 73-year-old D'Rozario, the other new cardinal-electors come from Italy, the Central African Republic, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Belgium, Mauritius, Mexico and Papua New Guinea, said the Reuters report.

Francis, making the surprise announcement at his weekly Sunday address, said the ceremony to elevate the prelates, known as a consistory, would be held on Nov 19.

Patrick D'Rozario with Pope Francis. Photo taken from Facebook

Born in Barisal's Padrishibpur in 1943, Patrick D'Rozario was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dhaka in November 2010 by then Pope Benedict XVI.

In October 2011, he succeeded Archbishop Paulinus Costa as Archbishop of Dhaka. He is also the president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh.

He is a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and was ordained priest in 1972.

Between 1990 and 1995, D'Rozario served as Bishop of Rajshahi and then went on to serve as Bishop of Chittagong.

Significantly, the pope on Sunday also said that the current Vatican ambassador in Syria, Italian Archbishop Mario Zenari, would be elevated but would remain in his post to show the Church's concern for "beloved and martyred Syria" - an allusion to the devastating civil war going on in the country.

It was believed to be the first time in recent history that a Vatican ambassador, known as a nuncio, would have the rank of cardinal.

The pope has made numerous appeals for an end to Syria's war and last month urged the forces engaged in the conflict to stop bombing civilians in Aleppo, warning them they would face God's judgment one day.

List of new cardinals

Under 80 years old:

Archbishop Mario Zenari (Italy), Vatican ambassador in Syria

Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga of Bangui, Central African Republic

Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid, Spain

Archbishop Sergio da Rocha of Brasilia, Brazil

Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago

Archbishop Patrick D'Rozario of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of Merida, Venezuela

Archbishop Jozef De Kesel of Malines-Brussels, Belgium

Archbishop Maurice Piat of Port Louis, Mauritius

Bishop Kevin Joseph Farrell of the US, head of a newly created Vatican department

Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla, Mexico

Archbishop John Ribat of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Archbishop Joseph William Tobin of Indianapolis, USA

Cardinals over 80:

Archbishop Emeritus Anthony Soter Fernandez of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Archbishop Emeritus Renato Corti of Novara, Italy

Archbishop Emeritus Sebastian Koto Khoarai of Mohale's Hoek, Lesotho

Father Ernest Simoni of Shkoder, Albania

The four new cardinals over 80, who get the position as a symbolic honour to thank them for long service to the Church, include Father Ernest Simoni, 88, an Albanian priest who spent many years in jail and forced labour during the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, who died in 1985.

View as Pope Francis leads a Marian vigil mass in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, October 9, 2016. Reuters

Pope Francis waves as he leaves at the end of a Marian vigil mass in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, Oct 9, 2016. Reuters

With the current batch, Francis has named 44 cardinal-electors, slightly more than a third of the total of 120 allowed by Church law.

It will be his third consistory since his election in 2013 as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years and he has used each occasion to show support for the Church in far flung places or where Catholics are suffering.

The Central African Republic, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Lesotho are each having a cardinal for the first time, underscoring Francis' conviction that the Church is a global institution that should become increasingly less Euro-centric.

Last year the pope visited Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic. Amid some of the tightest security ever seen on his trips, he preached reconciliation in the nation racked by bloodshed between Muslims and Christians.

Only one of the 13 cardinal-electors will take on a Vatican job. The others will remain in their posts around the world.

Three are from the United States: Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago, Archbishop William Tobin of Indianapolis and Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, who was recently appointed to head a new Vatican department on family and life issues.

In addition to Simoni, the Albanian priest, the other three cardinals over 80 come from Malaysia, Italy and Lesotho.