© KillarneyToday.com
A senior clergyman with strong Kerry links is featuring on a shortlist of possible candidates to succeed the late Pope Francis when the conclave meets to choose a new pontiff in the coming weeks.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who is currently serving in Newark, is the son of Irish emigrants Joseph W Tobin and Marie Kerwin.
Now aged 72, he was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1952 and is the eldest of 13 children.
A Redemptorist, who served as the head of his order in Rome, he was Archbishop of Indianapolis from 2012 to 2016 and he was appointed Archbishop of Newark in 2017.
A scholar who is fluent in four languages and a keep fit enthusiast very keen on weightlifting, he was appointed cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016 which was considered an endorsement of his inclusive and liberal pastoral style.
He is considered one of the most progressive voices within the Catholic Church hierarchy and he possesses many of the qualities that made Pope Francis such a success in the role.
According to Irish Central, Cardinal Tobin is deeply proud of his Irish heritage which traces to Kerry and he often uses his family’s struggles in coming to America as examples of why immigrants should be treated better.
Although the Church in North America represents a significant voting block, he will face stiff competition from a number of other cardinals who are being tipped for the top office when the white smoke billows from the Sistine Chapel.
The frontrunners are said to include Hungarian Peter Erdo (72), Italians Matteo Zuppi (69), Pietro Prolin (70) and Franciscan Pierbattista Pizzabella (60), Antonia Tagle from the Philippines (67) and Peter Turlsopnog from Ghana (76).
KillarneyToday: Read by thousands of people every day. Call 087-2229761 or email news@killarneytoday.com
