PM Lee congratulates Archbishop Goh on his upcoming appointment as Roman Catholic cardinal

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (June 1) congratulated Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye on an announcement by Pope Francis that he would be appointed as a Roman Catholic cardinal in August.

In a Facebook post, Mr Lee noted that Archbishop Goh, 64, will be the first Singaporean cardinal — a rank second only to the pope in the church hierarchy.

“This is especially significant to our Catholic community, who marked their bicentennial just last year,” Mr Lee wrote.

Since taking office in 2013, Archbishop Goh has guided Catholics in Singapore and has actively worked with fellow religious leaders to “promote religious harmony and support the progress of our country”, Mr Lee said.

“I am confident that he will continue to bring his wisdom and humility to his new responsibilities. I wish him every success in his new appointment, and look forward to him making a greater contribution to the Church and to the broader community, in Singapore and beyond,” he added.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore previously said in a statement that it is honoured at the news and that Archbishop Goh is "deeply humbled" by the upcoming appointment.

Archbishop Goh will be officially installed as a cardinal on Aug 27 in a ceremony known as a consistory.

One of the more high-profile roles of cardinals is to elect a new pope when the incumbent dies or resigns, at an event known as a conclave. Only cardinals aged under 80 may enter the conclave.

When the cardinals have elected a new pope, they convey this message by releasing white smoke from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, Archbishop Goh said that a greater responsibility is now placed on him "beyond the narrow confines of the archdiocese", since he will have to work together with other cardinals to look after the Universal Church by assisting and advising Pope Francis.

"Please pray that I might have the strength, the humility, the wisdom, the holiness and fortitude to give up my life completely for the service of our Holy Father (Pope Francis) and the Universal Church, as well as continue to look after the interests of the local church in Singapore and also the dioceses of Malaysia and Brunei of which we are a member of the Regional Bishops Conference."