Kikuchi to Become Vatican's 7th Cardinal from Japan

Paris, Oct. 6 (Jiji Press)--Pope Francis has named Archbishop Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo and 20 others new cardinals, the Holy See's official media outlet Vatican News said Sunday.

The 21 cardinals will be created at a consistory Dec. 8.

Cardinals, who hold the second-highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy, serve as top advisers to the pope.

According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, Kikuchi, 65, is the seventh Japanese to become cardinal. The sixth one, Manyo Maeda, took the post in 2018.

Born in Miyako in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate, Kikuchi has been serving as the archbishop of Tokyo since 2017.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]