PANAJI
For the first time in the 500-year-old history of the Archdiocese of Goa, an archbishop of Goa is expected to participate in the conclave to elect a successor to the late Pope Francis.
Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, who is President of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC) and President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), became eligible to participate in the conclave, when Pope Francis announced that he planned to make him a cardinal on May 29, 2022, and later made him a cardinal priest, assigning him the title of Santa Maria in Via on August 27, 2022.
Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote for the new pope.
Besides Cardinal Ferrao, the other cardinals from India who are eligible to take part in the conclave are Archbishop of Trivandrum Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Cardinal George Koovakad (Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue), and Archbishop of Hyderabad Cardinal Anthony Poola.
Incidentally, another cardinal of Goan origin “ Cardinal Joseph Coutts of Pakistan “ will be eligible to participate in the conclave, as he turns 80 on July 21.
