Pope Francis recently appointed Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as his special envoy for the 50th General Conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops in Bangkok, Thailand this October.
Tagle will preside the closing mass of the gathering on 30 October to be held at the Assumption Cathedral, according to the Vatican Bulletin.
The meeting of Asian bishops will begin on 12 October to be held at the Baan Phu Waan Pastoral Center which will also commemorate the FABC’s late 50th anniversary celebration, which was founded in 1970 with the Holy See’s approval.
The 19-day summit will “reflect on the re-emerging and rising realities and challenges of the Church in Asia,” according to the FABC Secretariat.
Cardinal Tagle oversaw the FABC’s Office of Theological Concerns for many years when he was still the archbishop of Manila before being assigned to the Vatican dicastery.
The FABC held its inaugural meeting in Hong Kong in 1971, and it was formally established in 1972. The episcopal conference association was established following Pope St. Paul VI’s apostolic visit to the Philippines.