Archbishop William Goh performs the Rite of Dedication marking the 120th anniversary of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Singapore on Feb. 14, 2017. (Photo: AFP)
Pope Francis has nominated Archbishop William Goh of Singapore among 21 new cardinals to be appointed in August in a move which the archdiocese said shows the global Church’s recognition of the missionary Church in the multicultural city-state.
“Archbishop William is conscious that this honor and new responsibility conferred on him is also a recognition of the contribution of the faithful in the archdiocese for helping him to build a vibrant, evangelizing and missionary Church,” the archdiocese said.
Archbishop Goh, 64, heads the Catholic community of some 300,000 in the city of 5.6 million which includes Christians, Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims and Hindus, besides some 18 percent who follows no religion.
Christians increased from 12.7 of the population in 1990 to 19 percent in 2015, census records show. Singapore’s Catholics, mostly Chinese and Indian migrants and their descendants, have increased to 5.35 percent now from 4 percent in 1990.
In his latest appointments, Pope Francis showed his pattern of bypassing major cities and traditionally considered cardinal seats, preferring to appoint bishops who are leading small or growing churches.
Five other cardinals in Asia come from Goa and Hyderabad in India, Dili in East Timor and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. The fifth one from South Korea works in a Vatican curia.
Archbishop Goh’s appointment “calls for him to serve not just the Archdiocese of Singapore; he will be expected to assist the Holy Father in the task of governing the universal Church,” the archdiocesan communication office said in a statement.
The prelate “is deeply humbled by this new appointment” and seeks the prayers of all so that “he can assume this responsibility with humility, wisdom and holiness,” the statement said.
Archbishop Goh was ordained a priest in the archdiocese in 1985 and was made archbishop in May 2013. He took over from Archbishop Nicholas Chia, who led the archdiocese from 2001 to 2013.