Archbishop among 5 Indian cardinals who can pick new Pope

Panaji: If the need arises to vote for a new Pope, archbishop of Goa and Daman, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, will be among five of six Indian cardinals who will vote at the Papal Conclave in Rome. Ferrao, 72, the first-ever archbishop of Goa to be elevated to the cardinalate in 2022, will be eligible to vote along with four other Indian cardinals who are all under the age of 80.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, who is 80 years old, will not be eligible to vote.

Major archbishop emeritus of the Syro-Malabar Church, Cardinal George Alencherry, who is 79 years old, is presently eligible to vote. He will turn 80 on April 19, after which he won’t be eligible to vote.

The other cardinals are major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis who is 64 years old, and Cardinal George Koovakad, 51, who was inducted into the College of Cardinals on Dec 7, and who has been in charge of coordinating Pope Francis’ foreign trips since 2021.

Koovakad, who belongs to the Syro-Malabar Church, from the archdiocese of Changanacherry, was in Goa recently as part of a Vatican delegation for the Exposition. He is a diplomat for the Vatican and has served in various countries since 2006. Cardinal Anthony Poola, 63, the first dalit Cardinal in history and archbishop of Hyderabad, will also be eligible to vote for a new Pope, if required.



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