Telesphore Placidus Toppo (born 15 October 1939) is an Indian cardinal and was the archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi The Ranchi Catholic Archdiocese (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Ranchiensis'') comprises the districts of Ranchi and Lohardaga of Jharkhand state, India. It was established by a decree of the Holy See dated 25 May 1927, when it was separated from the ...

from 1984 until his resignation was accepted on 24 June 2018. A

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...

, Toppo speaks Sadri, Oraon (mother tongues),

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

(official language), English and Italian.

Early life and ordination

Toppo was born in Chainpur, in the state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

and now in

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, on 15 October 1939, the eighth of ten children. He and his family belonged to

Adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...

community. He studied at St. Xavier's College, Ranchi, and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

in Rome. He was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on 3 May 1969 by Bishop Franz von Streng.

Bishop

After a stint at Torpa (Jharkhand), as Headmaster of St Joseph's School and Director of the Lievens Vocational Center, Toppo was named Bishop of

Dumka Dumka ( Santali: ᱫᱩᱢᱠᱟᱹ), the headquarters of the Dumka district and Santhal Pargana region, is a city in the state of Jharkhand, India. It was made the headquarters of the Santhal Pargana region, which was carved out of the Bh ...

and received his episcopal consecration on 7 October 1978 from Archbishop Pius Kerketta SJ. He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Ranchi, capital of the

state, on 8 November 1984. He became Archbishop there on 7 August 1985.

Cardinal

Toppo was made

cardinal-priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

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 ...

on 21 October 2003, given the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

Sacro Cuore di Gesù agonizzante a Vitinia Sacro Cuore di Gesù Agonizzante is a modern parish and titular church located at Via Sant’Arcangelo di Romagna 70 in Vitinia, a suburb of Rome. The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony in Vitinia ( it, Sacro Cuore di Gesù agonizzante ...

. He was the third cardinal from India, the first

. He said the title of cardinal was a "mark of distinction for the tribal Church in India and recognition of its growth". He was

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

at the 2005 papal conclave that elected

Joseph Ratzinger 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 soverei ...

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 soverei ...

. He was elected to serve a two-year term president of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on two occasions, in 2004 and 2006. He also served as president of the

Conference of Catholic Bishops of India The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India or CCBI, is the national episcopal conference of the bishops of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in India, functioning in accordance with canon 447. There are 132 Latin Catholic dioceses in the ...

, made up of Latin Rite bishops only, from 2001 to 2004 and from 2011 to 2013. At the Synod of Bishops in 2008, he endorsed ecumenical efforts but warned against "dilution of the Truth" and called for agreement on a common date for the celebration of Easter. At the Synod on the New Evangelization in 2012, he called on religious orders to commit themselves anew to missionary work. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...

that selected

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. ...

. On 11 February 2008, he called for the proclamation of a new Marian dogma on Mary,

Mediatrix Mediatrix is a title given to Mary, mother of Jesus in Christianity. It refers to the intercessory role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the salvific redemption by her son Jesus Christ and that he bestows graces through her. Mediatrix i ...

of graces,

Co-Redemptrix Co-Redemptrix (also spelled Coredemptrix; Co-Redemptress is an equivalent term) is a title used by some Catholics for the Blessed Virgin Mary, and refers to Mary's role in the redemption of all peoples. According to those who use the term, ''Co-R ...

of humanity, with Jesus as sole and unique mediator. Toppo sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute. Pope Francis accepted Toppo's resignation as Archbishop of Ranchi on 24 June 2018, announcing as his successor

Felix Toppo Felix Toppo S.J. (born 21 November 1947) is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Archbishop of Ranchi since 2018. He was Bishop of Jamshedpur from 1997 to 2018. He is a member of India's indigenous tribal people, like hi ...

, Bishop of Jamshedpur.

References

External links

*
Biography at catholic-pages.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toppo, Telesphore Indian cardinals 1939 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in India 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in India Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Pontifical Urban University alumni Adivasi people People from Saharsa district