May. 22, 2006 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) has named Cardinal Ivan Dias as prefect of the Congregation for Evangelization. The widely anticipated appointment, announced on May 20, came in tandem with the appointment of the current prefect, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, as Archbishop of Naples.

Cardinal Michele Giordano of Naples had submitted his resignation last September, upon reaching the canonical retirement age of 75. According to informed sources, the Vatican had originally planned to announce Cardinal Sepe's appointment to Naples, to be followed by a later announcement (the date June 3 had been discussed) for the choice of Cardinal Dias to replace him. But top officials decided to announce the shifts at the same time-- perhaps to avoid distracting attention from another major announcement anticipated in early June.

Cardinal Dias, the current Archbishop of Bombay, was in Rome when the announcement was made. He had led the May 13 procession down the Via della Conciliazione, celebrating the anniversary of the first apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.

The Indian cardinal had regularly been named as the prelate most likely to succeed Cardinal Sepe at the Congregation for Evangelization. Well known both in Rome and in the Third World, the 70-year-old Cardinal Dias was occasionally listed among the papabile entering the conclave last April. The appointment of a prominent Asian cardinal as head of the Congregation for Evangelization-- popularly known around Rome as Propaganda Fide-- bears testimony to the commitment of Pope Benedict XVI to make evangelization in Asia a high priority. The Congregation has responsibility for the Church's efforts in missionary territory, which includes most of the world's most populous continent.

Born into a pious Catholic family living just outside Bombay, Ivan Dias was ordained as a Salesian priest on December 8, 1958. (That year the Church was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Lourdes, and the young priest developed a practice of making a pilgrimage to Lourdes each year.) After parish work in Bombay he was sent to Rome to study canon law, and later served in the Vatican diplomatic corps for 30 years before being named Archbishop of Bombay in 1996. A polyglot who is fluent in 8 languages, he served in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Indonesia, and Madagascar; then worked in the Vatican bureau handling relations with the Soviet Union, China, and Vietnam; assigned abroad again, he was papal nuncio in Ghana, Togo, Benin, South Korea, and Albania. Returning to his native Bombay as archbishop, Cardinal Dias proved both popular and energetic, despite a significant health problem (he is diabetic). He has maintained close ties with Rome, serving on several Vatican congregations and commissions. And his post in India has forced him to grapple with difficult issues of inter-religious dialogue, defending the Christian minority against Hindu zealotry. Despite the religious syncretism that sometimes flourishes in India, Cardinal Dias was a strong proponent of Dominus Iesus (doc), the document released in 2001 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith-- of which he is a member-- reaffirming the unique and necessary role of Jesus Christ and his Church in the plan of salvation.

As prefect of the Congregation for Evangelization, Cardinal Dias will supervise 39% of the world's Catholic dioceses. He is the second prefect named by Pope Benedict to head a Vatican congregation. The first was Cardinal William Levada, appointed in May 2005 to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, filling the post that the Pope himself previously occupied.