Archbishop of Mumbai to lead federation of Asian bishops

The archbishop of Mumbai, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, was elected last week as the new general secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.

The decision was taken at the FABC central committee meeting on Oct. 21, at Bangkok, Thailand.

Cardinal Gracias, who is also the President of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, will assume his new role from January 1, 2012.

He succeeds Archbishop Orlando B Quevedo of Philippines who completed his two terms of office on Dec. 31, 2011.

Cardinal Gracias, who was ordained a priest on December 20, 1970, was elevated to the position of Cardinal on Oct 17, 2007. Earlier, he served as the Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay and as the Archbishop of Agra.

The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) is the association of bishops' conferences in South, Southeast, East and Central Asia.

Scattered among various Asian nations, FABC offices are focused on evangelization, social communication, laity and family, human development, education and faith formation, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, among others.