Christmas message of Bangladesh's first Cardinal

Christmas is just a couple of days away – this Sunday.  And in view of the festivities ahead, we thought of hearing from Bangladesh’s new Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, the Archbishop of Dhaka.  He is one of the 17 new cardinals that Pope Francis created during a ceremony in the Vatican on Nov. 19.  The selection as well as creation of Archbishop D’Rozario as cardinal by Pope Francis is indeed historic. The 73-year old Holy Cross prelate is not only Bangladesh’s first cardinal but he is also the first cardinal from among the Bengali-speaking people on either side of the divided Bengal, inhabiting Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal state.

Card. D’Rozario earlier served as Bishop of Rajshahi from 1990 to ’95, and then Bishop of Chittagong from 1995 to 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of Dhaka.  He became the Archbishop of Dhaka the following year. 

We called Card. D’Rozario on his mobile phone in Dhaka to know about his new status and also to give us message for Christmas.  We first asked him about how he regards his cardinalate.

Listen: