Pope Francis has appointed Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as a member of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches that supports churches worldwide.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website reported Thursday Tagle is now part of the Vatican body, which also assists the Latin-rite Catholic dioceses of the Middle East.
Tagle will be working with Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, who has been its prefect since 2014.
Tagle is currently the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide), which oversees the church’s vast “mission territories.”
Formerly known as the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for the Eastern Churches started as part of the Propaganda Fide which was established by Pope Pius IX in 1862.
In 1917, Pope Benedict XV declared it independent and named it Congregation for Eastern Churches.
Currently, the congregation works with about 23 Eastern Catholic churches and communities.