Pope Francis named Card. Luis Antonio Tagle as Prefect of Propaganda Fide, one of the major Vatican dicasteries. The congregation is in charge of supporting the Church in its mission lands. It is responsible for one out of every three Catholics.
Card. Tagle is 62 years old and until now has been the archbishop of Manila in the Philippines. He boasts a solid theological formation and great sensitivity to people in need. He was part of the International Theological Commission. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the evolution of the episcopal collegiality of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. He is the president of Caritas Internationalis.
He has been seen crying at the Vatican on two occasions. The first was during his appointment as cardinal. The second was when he spoke to the pope after the catastrophic typhoon, Haiyan, which left 6,000 people dead.
With this appointment, the pope entrusts an important Vatican position to an archbishop from Asia. In Rome, it is an underrepresented continent.
His predecessor in Propaganda Fide, Card. Fernando Filoni, will take the place of Card. Edwin O'Brien. At 80 years old, Card. O'Brien left his position as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
It is one of the most active institutions supporting Christians in the Holy Land.
Javier Romero
Translation: Claudia Torres
