Cardinal Sebastian Francis, the current Bishop of Penang, Malaysia, is a prelate of Indian descent who is a strong advocate for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, and a supporter of closer engagement with China.

Born on November 11, 1951, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Francis’ grandparents emigrated from Kerala, India, to Malaysia in the 1890s. He began his religious education at St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary in Singapore in 1967 and later studied theology at the College General in Penang. He was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Melaka-Johor on July 28, 1977, at the age of 26.

Throughout his career, Francis has held various positions within the Church. He served as a parish vicar, professor of dogmatic theology, spiritual director, and chaplain for university students. He also earned a licentiate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome in 1983 and a degree in justice and peace studies from the Maryknoll School of Theology in New York.

On July 7, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Francis as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Penang. He was consecrated on August 20, 2012, at St Anne’s Church in Bukit Mertajam, with 10,000 Catholics witnessing the event.

In his role as Bishop of Penang, Francis has worked to elevate the status of St. Anne’s Church in Bukit Mertajam to a minor basilica, recognizing its significance as a pilgrimage site that attracts 250,000 Catholics and non-Catholics annually.

Francis has held several important positions within the Catholic hierarchy. He served as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei from 2016 to 2023. In 2023, he was appointed chairman of the Office of Social Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

Pope Francis elevated Bishop Francis to the rank of cardinal on September 30, 2023, making him only the second cardinal from Malaysia.

The Malaysian bishop has been a strong advocate of intercultural and interreligious dialogue, and served as vice-president of the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

In Malaysia where 60% of the population are Muslim, Cardinal Francis refuses to describe Catholics as a “minority.” In an interview with the Missions Étrangères de Paris, he said that “divisions between majority and minority, liberal and conservative, or right and left are not appropriate in the Asian context.”

Cardinal Francis has also been a promoter of the controversial Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, co-signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in 2019. “This document always helps to break the ice” with representatives of other religions, he has said.

Cardinal Sebastian Francis supports stronger engagement with China and has shown interest in increasing China’s participation in the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). Although he has not referred to it directly, he also appears to have a generally positive view of the contentious Vatican-China agreement. He has stated that the Pope “shares so much the Asian psyche, the Asian ethos, and the Asian culture.”

Cardinal Francis is a keen supporter of synodality; he has said he advocates studying “burning issues” and believes the Church is not “afraid of any agendas on the part of anyone.”

He is known to speak English, Malay, and Tamil.