Asia's Cardinals in the Conclave 2025: Who are They?

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Asia may hold just 3% of the Catholic population among its 4.5 billion people, but its impact on the Catholic Church is immense. With 93 million Catholics, the Philippines alone ranks as the world’s third-largest Catholic country — home to nearly 80% of Southeast Asia’s Catholics. Today, 24 cardinal electors from 18 Asian and Pacific countries are shaping the future of the Church, with Pope Francis personally visiting 11 of those nations. Many are historic firsts: East Timor, Mongolia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Tonga, and Singapore now have cardinals for the first time, signaling a true shift in the Church’s global face. Notable figures include Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, seen as a leading voice in the Church, and India’s Cardinal Anthony Poola, the first Dalit cardinal — a milestone for a group long marginalized. Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand all bring their own powerful voices, reflecting rich traditions and fresh perspectives. In Oceania, countries like Tonga, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Australia — even with small Catholic populations — send influential leaders like Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga and Cardinal John Ribat of Papua New Guinea, a climate change advocate. As the Church faces challenges of secularism, religious intolerance, and family life pressures, these Asian-Pacific cardinals stand as a vital and dynamic force in the College of Cardinals — ready to help chart the Church’s future. Subscribe to our newsletter 👉🏻 https://bit.ly/ewtnvatican 👥 Follow us on our social networks: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EWTNVatican/ X: https://twitter.com/EWTNVatican Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EWTNVatican 💻 And you can also visit our website: https://www.ewtnvatican.com/ These are the Cardinals from Asia and the Pacific mentioned in this video: Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad (India) Cardinal Anthony Poola (India) Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal (India) Cardinal Filipe Neri António Sebastião do Rosário Ferrão (India) Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David (Philippines) Cardinal José Fuerte Advincula (Philippines) Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle (Philippines) Cardinal Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi (Japan) Cardinal Thomas Aquino Manyo Maeda (Japan) Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva (East Timor) Cardinal Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar) Cardinal William Goh Seng Chye (Singapore) Cardinal Sebastian Francis (Malaysia) Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo (Indonesia) Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij (Thailand) Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan (Hong Kong) Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don (Sri Lanka) Cardinal Joseph Coutts (Pakistan) Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik (South Korea) Cardinal Giorgio Marengo (Mongolia) Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi (Tonga) Cardinal John Ribat (Papua New Guinea) Cardinal John Dew (New Zealand) Cardinal Mykola Bychok (Australia, Ukrainian rite) Cardinal George Pell † (Australia, deceased) #conclave #conclave2025 #vatican #church #catholic #cardinal #popefrancis