ADDIS ABABA JANUARY 6, 2015(CISA) – Pope Francis named Archbishop Berhaneyesus Souraphiel of the Catholic Archdiocese of Addis Ababa among other 14 Archbishops and Bishops cardinals.
Pope Francis further announced that five retired Archbishops and Bishops “distinguished for their pastoral charity in the service of the Holy See and of the Church” would also be made Cardinals.
The 20 new cardinals shall however assume their roles on February 14 after a consistory-formal meeting with the Pope.
“As was already announced, on February 14 I will have the joy of holding a consistory during which I will name 15 new Cardinals who, coming from 14 countries from every continent, manifest the indissoluble links between the Church of Rome and the particular Churches present in the world,” Vatican Radio quoted Pope Francis as saying January 4.
“On Sunday February 15 I will preside at a solemn concelebration with the new Cardinals, while on February 12 and 13 I will hold a Consistory with all the Cardinals to reflect on the orientations and proposals for the reform of the Roman Curia,” he added.
Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel was born on 14 July 1948 in Tchela Claka, near Harar in Ethiopia.
He studied at the Makanissa Major Seminary and entered in the Congregation of the Mission (popularly known as Lazarists or Vincentians).
He was ordained Catholic priest on July 4 1976. He graduated with a degree in sociology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
He was elected as the chairman of AMECEA during the 18th Plenary Assembly in Malawi in July 2014.
He also serves as the chancellor of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).
The new cardinals include Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Archbishiop Manuel José Macario do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon (Portugal),Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington (New Zealand) Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo (Italy), Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Văn Nhon of Hà Nôi (Viêt Nam),Archbishop Alberto Suàrez Inda of Morelia (Mexico), Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon (Myanmar), Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok (Thailand).
Others include Archbishop Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento (Italy), Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., of Montevideo (Uruguay), Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Vallodolid (Spain), Bishop José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán, O.A.R., of David (Panamá), Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, of Santiago de Cabo Verde (Archipelago of Cape Verde), Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga (Island of Tonga).
Some additional cardinals that shall also join the College of Cardinals include five Archbishops and Bishops Emeriti who are distinguished for their pastoral charity in the service of the Holy See and of the Church.
They are José de Jesús Pimiento Rodriguez, Archbishop Emeritus of Manizales,
Archbishop Luigi De Magistris, Major Pro-Penitentiary Emeritus, Archbishop Karl-Joseph Rauber, Apostolic Nuncio, Luis Héctor Villaba, Archbishop Emeritus of Tucumán, Júlio Duarte Langa, Bishop Emeritus of Xai-Xai.
