HYDERABAD: Archbishop of Hyderabad, Poola Anthony, was installed as a Cardinal by Pope Francis on Saturday. The ceremony took place at the St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Archbishop Anthony is the first Telugu priest in the history of the Catholic Church to be made a cardinal. Cardinals primarily work as counsellors to the Pope and also take up important positions in the Vatican bureaucracy.
A delegation from Hyderabad consisting of bishops, priests, relatives of the Archbishop and faithfuls went to Vatican to witness this celebration. “This is truly a proud moment for all of us that the Archbishop of Hyderabad is one of the College of Cardinals of the Roman Pontiff,” remarked a press note from the Archdiocese. All the Cardinals will have a meeting with Pope Francis on August 29 and 30. The meeting will end with a Holy Mass presided by Pope Francis. The meeting will be live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook and Vatican News.