Three Asians among 20 new cardinals‎

Pope Francis on Sunday announced the names of 15 archbishops and bishops whom he will raise to the ‎rank of cardinal during a consistory on February 14.  Speaking after reciting the weekly midday ‘Angelus’ ‎prayer with the faithful and visitors in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square,  the Pope said the new cardinals are ‎‎“coming from 14 countries from every continent, manifest the indissoluble links between the Church of ‎Rome and the particular Churches present in the world.”  These 15 cardinals are all below 80 years of age and hence have the right to vote for a new Pope at a conclave. 

Besides the 15, Pope Francis also named 5 retired Archbishops and Bishops as cardinals, who he said ‎have been “distinguished for their pastoral charity in the service of the Holy See and of the Church.”  ‎Being 80 and above, these five will not have voting rights to elect a new Pope. 

Among the 15 new voting cardinals, three are from Asia - ‎Salesian Archbishop Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Văn Nhon of ‎Hà Nôi, Viêt Nam and Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand.  Of the rest, 5 are from Europe, 3 from Latin America, and 2 each from Africa and Oceania. ‎

Below are brief biographies of the Asian cardinals-designate:

Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar

Archbishop Charles Bo was born in Monhla Village, Shwebo District, Mandalay Division on 29 October, 1948. He is the youngest son of U John and Juliana Daw Aye Tin. He studied at “Nazareth” Salesian Aspirantate, Anisakan, in Pyin Oo Lwin from 1962 till 1976. He made his First Profession on May 24, 1970 and his Final Profession on March 10, 1976.

He was ordained to the priesthood of Salesians of Saint John Bosco, in Lashio, N.S.S. on 9 April, 1976. Upon ordination, he was assigned as Parish Priest at Loihkam from 1976 to 1981, and in Lashio from 1981 to 1983. After serving as Parish Priest, from 1983 until 1985 he was posted at Anisakan as Formator.

He served as Apostolic Administrator in Lashio from 1985 to 1986 and as Apostolic Prefect from 1986 to 1990. Archbishop Charles Bo was ordained Bishop of the Diocese of Lashio in Shan State on 16 December, 1990.

After serving as bishop of the Diocese of Lashio for six years, on 24 May, 1996 he was transferred to the Diocese of Pathein in Ayeyarwaddy Division, and was installed as Bishop of Pathein on 25 August, 1996. Being the Bishop of Pathein, he was also assigned as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Lashio from May 1996 to November 1998 and Archdiocese of Mandalay from 3 April 2002 to June 2003.  On May 24, 2003, he was nominated Archbishop of Yangon and was installed on 7 June, 2003.

Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon of Ha Noi, Vietnam

Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon, 77, was born in Da Lat, the capital city of Lam Dong Province. After finishing his studies at the Minor Seminary in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1958, he studied at the Da Lat-based Pius X Pontifical Institute. He also obtained a bachelor's degree in French Literature from a local Catholic college.  He was ordained a priest on December 21, 1967, and then became rector of Minh Hoa Major Seminary in Da Lat. He served as vicar of the Our Mother of God Cathedral and vicar general of Da Lat diocese from 1975, until St. John Paul II nominated  him Coadjutor Bishop of Da Lat on October 11, 1991.  He was ordained on December 3 that year. With the transfer of Bishop Barthelemy Nguyen Son Lam to Thanh Hoa Diocese on Mar. 23, 1994, Pierre Nguyen succeeded as Bishop of Da Lat.  Pope Benedict named him Coadjutor Archbishop of Hanoi on Apr.  22, 2010 and became its archbishop on May 13 that year after  Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet retired.

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, 65, was born at Ban Rak, in Bangkok Archdiocese, on June 27, 1949.  He was ordained priest on July 11, 1976, for Bankok Archdiocese.   Following his studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Sampran, he was sent to Rome, Italy, where from 1970-’76, he pursued his philosophical and theological studies at the Pontifical Urban University.   

Following his priestly ordination on July 11, 1976, he was appointed  assistant parish priest at the Nativity of Mary Church in Ban Pan.   The following year until 1979 he served as assistant parish priest at the Epiphany Church in Koh Vai; and then became the rector of the Minor Seminary of St. Joseph in Sampran (1979-’81). 

Fr. Kovithavanij was sent to Rome again, 1982-’83, where he specialized in spirituality at the Pontifical Gregorian University.  Returning to his homeland, he served as rector of the Holy Family Intermediate Seminary of Nakhon Ratchasima  for 6 years.  From 1989 to ’93 he served as under-secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand (CBCT).  From 1992-2000 he was rector of the Lux Mundi National Major Seminary in Sampran.  While teaching at the seminary from 2001, he also was parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church at Hua Take until 2003.  From 2003-2007, he became the parish priest of the Bangkok Cathedral. 

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr.  Kovithavanij  as Bishop of Nakhon Sawan on March 7, 2007, and was consecrated on June 2, that year.  On May 14, 2009, he was appointed Archbishop of Bangkok, where he was installed on August 16, that same year.  Since 2009 he has been the CBCT vice president.