Emeritus Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo (84) Passes away

Former president of the Ranchi Archdiocese in Jharkhand, Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo, passed away on October 4, 2023. He died of natural causes. He was 84 years old. He died at the Constant Lievens Hospital & Research Center in Ranchi, said Theodore Mascarenhas, the auxiliary bishop of Ranchi. Cardinal Toppo was the first cardinal from the Northern Mission region and the first person from the tribal category in Asia to join the College of Cardinals.

Cardinal Toppo also participated in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. He was elected president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India twice, in 2004 and 2006. He also served as president of the Latin Bishops’ Conference of India from 2001 to 2004 and from 2011 to 2013.