Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle has become the first Asian dean of the College of Cardinals after Pope Leo XIV approved his election by the cardinals of the Order of Bishops.
The Vatican said the pope approved Tagle’s election on Oct. 8 and announced the appointment the following day.
Tagle, 69, succeeds Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 92, who had served as dean since January 2020.
Re will assume the title of dean emeritus of the College of Cardinals and retain the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto.
Tagle will assume the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Ostia while retaining the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano.
He currently serves as pro-prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
The dean serves as “primus inter pares,” or “first among equals,” within the College of Cardinals and coordinates its activities without exercising governing authority over the other cardinals.
The office carries particular responsibilities when the Apostolic See becomes vacant. The dean convenes the cardinals and presides over the general congregations held before a conclave.
If the dean is under 80 and eligible to vote, he also presides over the conclave. At 69, Tagle remains eligible to participate in a conclave under current Church rules.
The College of Cardinals advises the pope and elects his successor when the papacy becomes vacant. Only cardinals under 80 when the vacancy begins may vote in a conclave.
Pope Francis changed the tenure of the dean in 2019, establishing a five-year term that may be renewed once. The dean had traditionally served for life.
Tagle was appointed bishop of Imus in 2001 and served there until 2011.
He was appointed archbishop of Manila in 2011, succeeding Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, and assumed leadership of the archdiocese in December that year.
Pope Benedict XVI elevated Tagle to the College of Cardinals in November 2012.
Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in December 2019. Tagle assumed the post in 2020.
Francis also elevated Tagle to the rank of cardinal-bishop in May 2020.
Following the restructuring of the Roman Curia, Tagle became pro-prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
Tagle’s election marks a milestone for the Catholic Church in Asia, making the Filipino cardinal the first Asian to serve as dean of the College of Cardinals.
