Cardinals are personally selected by the Pope. Pope Francis announced the new cardinals from the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica at the end of a special Mass on Sunday, October 9, in the Vatican.
The 59-year-old is among 17 cardinals selected by the pope and is now the sixth cardinal ever selected from the Oceania region.
The group includes men from five countries that had never before had a cardinal, namely PNG, Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, Lesotho and Malaysia.