Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi (India), was born on October 15, 1939 in Chainpur, India. He was ordained a priest on May 3, 1969. Cardinal Toppo studied at the Regional Major Seminary of St. Albert's College in Ranchi. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from St. Xavier's College, Ranchi, and a master of arts degree in history from Ranchi University, Ranchi. After his studies in theology at the Pontifical Urbaniana College in Rome, he was nominated Bishop of Dumka on June 8, 1978 and ordained October 7, 1978.
Cardinal Toppo served first as assistant teacher and then Headmaster at the St. Joseph's High School, Torpa, and later founded and also directed the"Lievens' Vocational Centre, Torpa". He was appointed Archbishop Coadjutor of Ranchi on November 8, 1984 and succeeded to the See of Ranchi on August 7, 1985, being installed on August 25.
Cardinal Toppo is currently President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). In 2002 he received the Jharkhand Ratan Award for distinguished social work done in Jharkhand.
President Delegate of the 11th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church (October 2005).
Created and proclaimed Cardinal by John Paul II in the Consistory of October 21, 2003, of the Title of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Agony in Vitinia.
Curial membership:
- Evangelization of Peoples (congregation)
- Interreligious Dialogue (council)
- XI Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
