Telesphore Cardinal Toppo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Church positions | |
| See | Ranchi |
| Title | Cardinal Archbishop of Ranchi |
| Period in office | Tuesday, October 21, 2003 — till date |
| Raised to cardinalate | 21 October 2003 |
| Predecessor | Mario Luigi Cardinal Ciappi, O.P |
| Successor | Incumbent |
| Previous post | Archbishop of Ranchi, India |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | October 15, 1939 |
| Place of birth | Chainpur |
| Styles of Telesphore Placidus Cardinal Toppo |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Ranchi |
Telesphore Placidus Cardinal Toppo (born 15 October 1939) is a Cardinal Priest and Archbishop of Ranchi in the Roman Catholic Church. He is the first Adivasi (tribal) Indian to be created a Cardinal.
Born in 1939 in Chainpur, India, the 8th of 10 children, Toppo studied in Ranchi and Rome. After studying in Ranchi and Rome, he was ordained a priest on 3 May 1969. He was named Bishop of Dumka in 1978 and Archbishop of Ranchi in 1985. A polyglot, Toppo speaks Oraon, Hindi, Sadri, English, and Italian.
Toppo was proclaimed Cardinal by Pope John Paul II on 21 October 2003. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
Toppo is current president of CBCI (Catholic Bishops Conference of India).
