Bolivia Celebrates Designation of Cardinal

Bolivia has welcomed as a national holiday John Paul II´s announcement that he will make Archbishop Julio Terrazas of Santa Cruz de la Sierra a cardinal next month.

Bolivian Chancellor Javier Murillo said that "the country received the news with enormous joy, because it is an acknowledgment of the profoundly Catholic and Christian spirit of the Bolivian people."

The archbishop said that his elevation to cardinal on Feb. 21 would not be "a reason for pride, but for greater commitment and more work for God and the people. I will fulfill this task with all my faith and will."

The future cardinal belongs to the Redemptorist order. He was ordained a priest in 1962, and has been bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra since Feb. 5, 1991 (it became an archdiocese later).

Bolivia´s last cardinal was the nationalized German Clement Maurer, also a Redemptorist, who died in June 1990. He was named by Paul VI in 1967.