Singapore's Archbishop William Goh appointed by Pope Francis to be Cardinal in August
Singapore's Archbishop William Goh to become Cardinal in August. (PHOTO: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore)
SINGAPORE — Archbishop William Goh, the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, will be appointed a Cardinal, the Vatican said on Sunday (29 May).
Pope Francis announced that he will create 21 new Cardinals at a Consistory on 27 August. The Cardinals represent the Church worldwide, and reflect “a wide variety of cultures, contexts and pastoral ministries”, according to a report by Vatican News.
“He also said that he will meet during the next two days (29-30 August) with all the Cardinals to reflect on the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate evangelium,” the report added. The updated constitution was published by Pope Francis in March and will take effect on 5 June.
The College of Cardinals currently has 208 Cardinals, including 117 electors and 91 non-electors. With Pope Francis’ announcement, the number will grow to 229 Cardinals, of whom 131 will be electors, on 27 August.
Of the 21 new Cardinals, eight are from Europe, six from Asia, two from Africa, one from North America, and four from Central and Latin America.
With his new role, Archbishop Goh and his fellow Cardinals are the second most senior in the ranks of the Roman Catholic clergy after Pope Francis.
The 4th Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, Archbishop Goh, 64, began his theological studies in Philosophy at the Major Seminary at Penang (College General), and Theology at the Major Seminary of Singapore.
In 1985, Archbishop Goh was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Singapore. He was Assistant Parish Priest in Church of the Holy Cross from 1985 to 1989. He then went on to undertake his Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology in the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome in 1992.
Archbishop Goh was formerly Formator, Lecturer and Rector at the St Francis Xavier Major Seminary Spiritual Director of the Catholic Spirituality Centre. He took office as Archbishop on 18 May 2013.
Yahoo News Singapore has reached out to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore for its response on Archbishop Goh's new appointment.
