Nigerian Archbishop Onaiyekan elevated to Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI

VATICAN CITY — Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan-68 has been selected as one of six new cardinals who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. Others include; US Archbishop James Harvey-63, Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai-72, Indian Archbishop Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal-53, Colombian Archbishop Ruben Salzar Gomez of Bogota-70 and Philippine Archbishop Luis Tagle of Manila-55.

Cardinal John Onaiyekan

Pope Benedict XVI presided over the ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica and as he read each name aloud in Latin, cheers and applause erupted from their friends and family members in the pews.

The ceremony was both joyful and emotional: Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, seen by many to be a rising star in the church, visibly choked up as he knelt before Benedict to receive his red hat, or biretta, vestments and gold ring, which symbolize their readiness to shed their blood to defend their Christian faith.

source: BBCnews

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