Archbishop Toppo prepares for Vatican

Toppo, who completes 25 years as Archbishop on November 6, is the first Adivasi in the country to be nominated a Cardinal to become a member of the 164-member college, the top brass of the Catholic Church. Among them, Archbishop Toppo belongs to the group of 109 Cardinals, who are below 80 years of age who will elect the successor to Pope John Paul II. Before him, there were eight Cardinals from India. But none of them were Adivasis like Toppo, whose grand parents had embraced Christianity earlier in this century.

Born in Jhargaon village in adjoining Gumla district on October 15, 1939, the Archbishop was the eighth child of Amros Toppo and Sofia Xalxo who had 10 children. He graduated in English honours from St.Xavier’s College, Ranchi in 1965.