A file image of George Jacob Koovakad with Pope Francis.
Credit: X/@@TechnoSports_in
New Delhi: With an aim to reach out to Christians, the Modi government is sending a delegation headed by Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurien to witness the ordaining of Kerala Priest Monsignor George Jacob Koovakad as a cardinal by the Pope at a function to be held in the Vatican City on Saturday.
The delegation will have Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh, BJP’s Tom Vadakkan and Anil Antony, besides former union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Rajya Sabha MP Satam Singh Sandhu.
Koovakad is from the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Changanacherry and his elevation as a cardinal makes him the sixth from Kerala.
Cardinals elect the Pope. The priest will be among 21 Cardinals who will be ordained. The delegation will be headed to the Vatican on Thursday, and the elevation will take place on Friday.
Kurien told DH that this is a rare event. “Very rarely is a priest elevated as a Cardinal. This is a 2000-year registry. This is also part of Modi’s vision of equal rights to all religions,” Kurien said.
He added that most of the members of the delegation belong to the same diocese.