* The Pope appoints 19 new cardinals: Investiture to be held on February 22
* Bishop Chibly Langlois appointed from Haiti, one of the poorest countries

A third cardinal has been appointed in South Korea.

On January 12 (local time) the Vatican Radio reported that Pope Francis (right photo) released the names of nineteen newly appointed cardinals including Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung (70, left) of South Korea. Among the new cardinals, twelve are leaders of their local dioceses and seven are either serving in the Vatican or have contributed to the Vatican's mission by engaging in local pastoral activities.

Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung is the bishop of the Seoul Archdiocese. He was born in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province in 1943 and was ordained as a Catholic priest when he graduated from the Catholic University of Korea in 1970. He was the head priest of the Catholic churches in Itaewon, Jangwi-dong, Yeongdeungpo, and Mok-dong, and also served at the Catholic University of Korea. He was ordained bishop in January 2002.

Archbishop Andrew Yeom is also the chairman of the Onggi Scholarship Foundation and the foundation, Babo Nanum (Fool's Sharing), which uphold the dreams of the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan. Recently, the archbishop opposed the mass offered by the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice concerning the political situation in Korea and announced his views that, "Social, political intervention is not for the pastorate, but a calling for the laity."

South Korea once opened an age of "two cardinals" with the investiture of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan and Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk. Pope Francis, who was inaugurated as pope last March, was expected to open up the senior rankings in the Catholic Church, once dominated by Europeans, to non-European priests.

This had many hoping for several new cardinals from Asia and Africa. As if to meet these expectations, the Pope appointed a large number of cardinals in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In Asia, Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo from the Philippines will also wear the cardinal's "crimson hat" along with South Korea's Archbishop Andrew Yeom. The Pope also named cardinals in the two African countries, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

Bishop Chibly Langlois was appointed cardinal in Haiti, a Caribbean countrty in Central America. Pope Francis even chose a bishop, not an archbishop, to name a cardinal in the world's poorest country. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesperson said that the appointment of a cardinal in Haiti reflected the Pope's consideration for life in the poorest regions.

In a statement on the newly appointed cardinals, the Pope explained that he had focused on embracing all parts of the world and on deepening the relationship between the Vatican and all the churches in the world. The nineteen priests will be formally installed as cardinals on February 22, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Among the new cardinals, four are "honorary" cardinals who have no right to vote at the conclave since they are over 80 years old.