Charles Maung Bo ( my, ချားလ်မောင်ဘို, ; born 29 October 1948) is a Burmese Catholic prelate who has served as
Archbishop of Yangon since 7 June 2003. He was created a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
in 2015.
Early life and education
Bo was born on 29 October 1948, in Monhla Village,
Shwebo District
Shwebo District is a district in south-central Sagaing Division of Burma (Myanmar).Sagaing Region
Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
to parents John and Juliana Aye Tin.
Bo's father, a farmer, died when he was 2. Thereafter, he was sent to a
Salesian
, image = File:Stemma big.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
, abbreviation = SDB
, formation =
, founder = John Bosco
, founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...
-run
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
in Mandalay. From 1962 to 1976, Bo studied at the Nazareth Aspirantate, a Salesian seminary, in Anisakan village, near
Maymyo
Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: ), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have a population of ...
(now Pyin Oo Lwin).
Career
Bo was ordained a priest of the
Salesians of Don Bosco
The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...
order on 9 April 1976. He was appointed as prefect of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lashio
The diocese of Lashio is a Roman Catholic diocese of Myanmar centered at Lashio. The diocesan territory covers a land area of 61,266 square kilometers. Philip Lasap Za Hawng (born 1945) is the current bishop of Lashio (from 1998).
History
The m ...
in 1986. Four years later, he was consecrated
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of Lashio. In 1996, he was transferred to the Diocese of Pathein. On 17 March 2001,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
named him a member of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...
.
On 24 May 2003, Pope John Paul named Bo Archbishop of Yangon. On 17 January 2009,
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
named him a member of the
Pontifical Council for Culture
The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...
.
On 4 January 2015,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
announced that he would make Bo a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
on 14 February of the same year. At that ceremony, he was assigned the titular church of
Sant’Ireneo a Centocelle
In April 2015 Pope Francis named him a member of the
and the
Pontifical Council for Culture
The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...
, and in July 2016 a member of the
Secretariat for Communications
The Dicastery for Communication ( it, Dicastero per la Comunicazione) is a division (dicastery) of the Roman Curia with authority over all communication offices of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Its various offices can be accessed thro ...
.
In July 2018, Francis named him a delegate to the Synod of Bishops on youth, faith, and vocational discernment.
He was elected to a three-year term as head of the
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences
The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) is an association of episcopal conferences of Catholic Church in South, Southeast, East and Central Asia. The federation fosters solidarity and joint responsibility for the welfare of the Church a ...
(FABC) in the fall of 2018.
See also
*
Cardinals created by Pope Francis
Pope Francis () has created cardinals at eight consistories held at roughly annual intervals beginning in 2014, most recently on 27 August 2022. He has created 121 cardinals from 66 countries, 23 of which had never been represented in the Col ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bo, Charles Maung
1948 births
Living people
Burmese Roman Catholics
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Myanmar
Salesian cardinals
Cardinals created by Pope Francis
Members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
Members of the Pontifical Council for Culture
Burmese cardinals
People from Sagaing Region