Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik was made a cardinal at the Vatican on Saturday, becoming the fourth South Korean to don the red robes.
Pope Francis installed 20 new cardinals as he officiated a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica, raising the total number of cardinals worldwide to 226.
Ordained as a priest while studying in Rome in 1979, You became the first South Korean to serve as the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy in June of last year, a post that oversees matters regarding priests and deacons.
You is now the fourth South Korean to be elevated to cardinal after the late Stephen Kim Sou-hwan and Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, who passed away in 2009 and 2021, respectively. Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, who was accepted to the College of Cardinals in 2014, was present at Saturday’s ceremony.
As the most senior clergymen in the Roman Catholic Church after the Pope, cardinals retain the title for life. Cardinals under the age of 80 have the right to take part in electing a new pontiff, a right You will have for the next ten years.
Source: KBS World Radio