Pope Francis elevated Mgr. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, Archbishop of Luxembourg and President of COMECE, to the dignity of Cardinal during the Consistory held at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, on Saturday 5 October 2019.
Mgr. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, Archbishop of Luxembourg and President of COMECE (Credit: COMECE)
Along side Mgr. Hollerich, the Holy Father created 12 other new cardinals from every part of the world. “Their origins – stated the Holy Father – express the missionary vocation of the Church, which continues to proclaim the merciful love of God to all people of the earth”.
Hearing Pope Francis’s announcement of a new Consistory, Mgr. Hollerich expressed surprise and declared: “I still have to get used to the news. I hope that I can always listen to the Gospel […], and as a Cardinal be really of service to the Pope, to the Church and to all the women and men who constitute the Church of God”.
Em. Card. Hollerich, 61-year-old, Jesuit with more than 20 years of pastoral experience in Japan, is the President of COMECE since March 2018, when he was elected by the COMECE Assembly.
Committed to the common good in Europe and in the world, Cardinal Hollerich is devoted to key issues including youth, migrants, climate and the global role of Europe for sustainable peace and integral human development.
(Credit: Web)
After receiving the red hat from Pope Francis, Cardinal Hollerich thanked the Holy Father for the trust and added: “The elevation to the cardinalate is not so much a reward for myself, but an encouragement to continue and to reinforce the work we are doing as a Church of mercy and charity to all the people who are in need, regardless of their origin or their religion”.
“The cardinalate shows that the Pope and our Church care about the problem fields of the present times and that we are willing to commit ourselves in order to promote a lifestyle according to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life” – continued H. Em. Card. Hollerich.
The Consistory was also attended by a delegation of COMECE. Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE, congratulated the new Cardinal and expressed great joy on behalf of EU Bishops.
The elevation came on the eve of the Amazon Synod (6-27 October), in which the newly-created Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich will participate as member nominated by Pope Francis.