RANCHI (UCAN): Tens of thousands joined the funeral service of Asia’s first cardinal from a tribal community, Telesphore Placidus Cardinal Toppo of Ranchi, when he was buried with state honours in eastern India, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Ranchi, on October 11.
The 84-year-old Cardinal Toppo died on October 4 at the Father Constant Leavens Hospital and Research Centre in his home state of Jharkhand due to age-related illness.
More than 50,000 people from all walks of life paid their last respects, including state governor, C. P. Radhakrishnan, and chief minister, Hemant Soren, Father Nicholas Barla, secretary of the Indian bishops’ office for tribal affairs said.
Church officials said an estimated 30,000 people attended the funeral ceremony at a college ground in the Archdiocese of Ranchi.
“The crowd, irrespective of their caste, creed, and religion, showed that he was the ‘people’s cardinal’ who broke all barriers,” Father Barla said on October 12.
Cardinal Toppo was known as the “people’s cardinal” because of his enthusiasm for the issues of ordinary tribal people, aiming to help them, Father Barla said, adding that his memory “will be cherished” for a long time.
The cardinal not only broke the wall of differences among other religions but walked all the way to make sure that all people may live harmoniously,
Tirkey
The cardinal, who received the biretta in 2003, was the first cardinal from the Indian tribal community to become a member of the College of Cardinals of the Holy See. He attended the conclaves that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope Francis in 2013.
He was archbishop of Ranchi from 1984 until 2018 and spike Sadri, Oraon, Hindi, English and Italian.
The funeral Mass was led by Archbishop Felix Toppo, who succeeded Cardinal Toppo as head of the archdiocese in 2018, and was attended by over 27 bishops, 500 priests, and thousands of nuns.
The body was brought to Ranchi from the hospital on October 10 to allow people to pay their last respects.
The body was draped the national flag and state police offered a ceremonial gun salute before the funeral. The chief minister and members of his cabinet and legislators laid white floral wreaths on the coffin.
“The cardinal made it sure that people may grow spiritually but at the same time they may excel in education and other fields,” Father Barla, from the Oran tribal community, said.
Ratan Tirkey, a former member of the tribal advisory committee of the Jharkhand government, observed that Cardinal Toppo “was the father figure and was called ‘Baba’ [father] by all.”
He encouraged inter-religious talks and set up an inter-religious forum to encourage religious collaboration.
“The cardinal not only broke the wall of differences among other religions but walked all the way to make sure that all people may live harmoniously,” said Tirkey, a Catholic leader from a tribal community in Jharkhand.
