POPE Francis has appointed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as a member of a Vatican body that supports Eastern Catholic Churches throughout the world.
“The Cardinal was the sole addition to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches,” said CBCP News, the official news agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Known as the “Congregation for the Oriental Churches” when it was established by Pope Pius IX in 1862, the body started as part of the “Propaganda Fide” or the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which Tagle currently heads.
In 1917, Pope Benedict XV declared the body independent and renamed it “Congregation for Eastern Churches,” which is currently headed by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.
The Congregation collaborates with about 23 Eastern Catholic churches and communities to ensure diversity, including in the aspects of liturgy and spirituality.
Tagle, former archbishop of Manila, has been in the Vatican since February 2020 when he formally assumed as head of the “Propaganda Fide.”
In May 2020, the Pontiff elevated him to the order of “cardinal bishops,” which is the highest rank within the College of Cardinals, and where the Dean of Cardinals is elected from.
In July 2020, Tagle was also named member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Last February, he was appointed as a member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which serves as the central bank of the Vatican.
Tagle is also in his second and last term as president of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of Catholic charities around the world.
