In a grand consistory held in the Vatican Saturday, 51-year-old Keralite priest George Jacob Koovakad was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis. Koovakad will be remembered in history as the first priest to be directly elevated as a cardinal from India. The other cardinals from India were bishops/archbishops before being elevated to this exalted post in the Church. The ceremony, held at St Peter’s Basilica and attended by clergy and dignitaries from around the world, witnessed the induction of 21 new cardinals.
Hailing from the Archdiocese of Changanassery, Koovakad’s appointment brings the total number of Indian cardinals to six, further strengthening the country’s representation in the Vatican.
Koovakad, who has been organising the Pope’s international travels since 2020, shares a good relationship with him, and on Sept 2 last year, Pope Francis video-called his grandmother, Sosamma Antony, 95, after her health deteriorated following Covid. Koovakad, who held the title of monsignor, was recently declared the titular archbishop of Nisibis in Turkey.
Earlier, Koovakad said: “…This is God’s will which I never expected. When I was sent here (in 2006), I was told by my respected seniors, that if it’s to learn the Bible, that can be done in Kerala itself, but since you are being sent to the Vatican it’s being done to learn things deeply.”
Cardinal George Alencherry, major archbishop emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Church, expressed his delight at the elevation of another Indian to the cardinalate.
“It is a matter of immense pride for India that Archbishop George Koovakad will be created as a Cardinal by Pope Francis,” PM Modi posted on X.
Born on August 11, 1974, Koovakad was ordained as a priest on July 24, 2004. He later pursued training for diplomatic service at the prestigious Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. In 2006, he began his diplomatic career at the apostolic nunciature in Algeria. In 2020, he joined the secretariat of state of the Holy See, where he assumed responsibility for organising the Pope’s global travels.