Quebec archbishop among 19 new cardinals appointed by Pope Francis

Archbishop of Quebec Gerald Cyprien Lacroix walks past then Pope Benedict XVI after receiving the pallium, a woolen shawl symbolizing his bond to the Pope, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, June 29, 2011. Lacroix is amongst the 19 new cardinals that Pope Francis announced Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014 during his Angelus prayer from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square. The ceremony to formally install them as cardinals will be held Feb. 22 at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, file)

The Canadian Press

VATICAN, Vatican City - The archbishop of Quebec is among a new batch of cardinals selected today by Pope Francis.

Gerald Cyprien Lacroix was one of 19 men named to the senior ecclesiastical post this morning at the Vatican.

Lacroix, a native of Saint-Hilaire de Dorset, a small town 300 kilometres east of Montreal, became Quebec’s archbishop in 2011.

The 60-year-old worked for more than a decade in Colombia after being ordained as a priest in 1988.

Lacroix will be formally installed as a cardinal at a ceremony on Feb. 22.

The cardinals chosen by Pope Francis come from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere, including the developing nations of Haiti and Burkina Faso, in line with his belief that the church must pay more attention to the poor.

Lacroix, who is active on social media, took to Twitter in reaction to the announcement.

“A very big responsibility,” he wrote. “Very happy to continue serving the Church with Pope Francis.”

Canada now has three cardinals, with Lacroix joining Jean-Claude Turcotte of Montreal and Thomas Collins of Toronto.

Lacroix’s predecessor as archbishop, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, currently holds a top post at the Vatican.

He was considered a contender to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in Feb. 2013.