Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro (19 January 1918 – 11 February 1994) was a Catholic prelate who in 1973 became the first Pakistani cardinal.[2]


Joseph Cordeiro
Cardinal
Archbishop of Karachi
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseKarachi
SeeKarachi
Elected7 May 1958
In office11 February 1994
PredecessorJames Cornelius van Miltenburg O.F.M.
SuccessorSimeon Anthony Pereira
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte (1973-94)
Orders
Ordination24 August 1946
Consecration7 May 1958
by Archbishop James Cornelius van Miltenburg, O.F.M.
Created cardinal5 March 1973
by Pope Paul VI
Rank Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro

(1918-01-19)19 January 1918
Died11 February 1994(1994-02-11) (aged 76)
Holy Family Hospital, Karachi
BuriedSaint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi
24°51′43″N 67°02′06″E / 24.8619°N 67.0349°E / 24.8619; 67.0349
NationalityPakistan Pakistani
DenominationRoman Catholic
ResidenceKarachi
ParentsDr. Peter Cordeiro(Father) Elvine Cordeiro(Mother)
Previous post(s)President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan (1958-1994)
EducationMaster of Arts
Alma materSt Patrick's High School, Karachi.
University of Bombay.
Oxford University.
MottoOmnia OmnibusLatin[1]
All for everyoneEnglish
Styles of
Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeKarachi
Ordination history of
Joseph Cordeiro
History
Priestly ordination
Date24 August 1946
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorArchbishop James Cornelius van Miltenburg, O.F.M.
Co-consecratorsBishop Francesco Benedetto Cialeo, O.P. ,
Bishop Leonard Joseph Raymond
Date24 August 1958
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope Paul VI
Date5 March 1973
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Joseph Cordeiro as principal consecrator
Bishop Bonaventure Patrick Paul, O.F.M.14 June 1971
Bishop John Joseph9 January 1981
Bishop Anthony Theodore Lobo1 October 1982

Early life edit

Cordeiro was born to a Goan family which hailed from the village of Salvador do Mundo in Goa.[3][4] He was educated at St Patrick's High School, Karachi, the University of Bombay and Oxford University. He received his religious training at the Papal Seminary in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and was ordained a priest in Karachi, Pakistan on 24 August 1946.[5]

Career edit

From 1946 to 1948, he did pastoral work in Hyderabad and Karachi.[citation needed]

He then attended Oxford University, where he earned a Master of Arts degree.[citation needed]

In 1950 he was appointed Vice Principal of St Patrick's High School, Karachi.[citation needed] From 1952 he served as principal of St Francis Grammar School in Quetta and as rector of the St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Quetta. On 7 May 1958, he was appointed Archbishop of Karachi, with his seat at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi.[6][7]

He attended the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the First Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Vatican City (1967), the First Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Vatican City (1969) and the Second Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Vatican City (1971). He was elected a member of the Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops (1971).

He was the first Pakistani cardinal, a position elevated by Pope Paul VI (1973). He attended both papal conclaves in 1978, and was mentioned as papabile by Time Magazine after Pope John Paul I's death.[8]

He wrote a series of articles for the Archdiocesan weekly Christian Voice called "Lessons of a Lifetime", a reflection on his life experiences.

From 1958 until his death, Cordeiro was president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan.[6]

He was also since 1972 the secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.[9]

Death edit

Cordeiro died on 11 February 1994 at Holy Family Hospital with complications due to cancer.[10] Cordeiro was succeeded by Archbishop Simeon Anthony Pereira.[5]

Honors edit

Cordeiro was honoured by the Christ the King Seminary in Karachi that has hosted the Cardinal Cordeiro Cricket tournament to promote religious vocations since 2008.[11]

On 6 May 2011, The Old Patricians (former students of St Patrick's school) presented the Joseph Cardinal Cordeiro Gold Medal to the top student from the Cambridge A level section at the closing ceremony of the 150th anniversary of the school.[12]

In 2012, Cardinal Cordeiro High School was named in his honor. The school is located in the Good Shepherd Parish in Korangi Town, Karachi.[13]

His alma mater, St. Patrick's High School named the Cardinal Cordeiro Silver Jubilee Auditorium in his honor.

References edit

  1. ^ "Cardinali_motti_ parte_ seconda".
  2. ^ Colgrove, Rosemary (1 January 2010). Eye on the Sparrow: The Remarkable Journey of Father Joseph Nisari, Pakistani Priest. Hillcrest Publishing Group. ISBN 9781936400874.
  3. ^ Goan origin archbishop Joseph Coutts appointed cardinal by Pope. Its Goa.
  4. ^ "Pakistan's Goa Connections". The Times of India. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b Ali, G. and Ali, M. St. Patrick’s: A journey of 175 years. Archdiocese of Karachi, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Cardinal Cordeiro first Pakistani cardinal dies in Karachi". UCANews.com. 14 February 1994.
  7. ^ "Archdiocese of Karachi". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  8. ^ "A Light That Left Us Amazed". Time. 16 October 1978. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  9. ^ The Buffalo News February 14, 1994
  10. ^ "UCANews.com December 2, 1994".
  11. ^ "UCANews September 17, 2010". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  12. ^ The Old Patricians website accessed 8 April 2012 Archived 28 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ UCANews 18 April 2012 Archived 22 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine