Poola Anthony Elected President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI)

Exam-focused facts from the 9 February 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

Cardinal Poola Anthony, the Archbishop of Hyderabad, has been elected as the new President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).
He was elected during the 37th general body meeting of the CBCI held on 7 February 2026.
The 64-year-old is the first Dalit prelate to head the Catholic Church in India, which represents nearly 2 crore Catholics.
He succeeds Archbishop Andrews Thazhathu from Kerala as the president of the bishops' body.
Poola Anthony was appointed as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Hyderabad on 19 November 2020 and was proclaimed a cardinal by Pope Francis on 27 August 2022.
Born on 15 November 1961 in Poluru, he was ordained as a priest on 20 February 1992 and previously served as the Bishop of Kurnool from 2008 to 2020.
He served as the Director of the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging from 2004 to 2008 and holds a Master’s degree in pastoral care from Loyola University, Chicago.