Detroit — Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin, CSsR, a native of Detroit who served for more than a decade as pastor of the city’s Holy Redeemer Parish, was among 17 new cardinals named Oct. 9 by Pope Francis.

Cardinal-designate Tobin, who served as pastor of the southwest Detroit parish from 1979-90 as a member of the Redemptorist religious order, said on Twitter shortly after the announcement that he was “shocked beyond words by the decision of the Holy Father.”

In a later statement on the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’ website, Cardinal-designate Tobin asked the faithful to pray for him and the other new cardinals.

“I have come to love deeply the people of the Catholic communities of central and southern Indiana and count as a precious blessing the numerous friendships I have with civic and religious leaders throughout the state,” Cardinal-designate Tobin said. “I ask all people of faith to pray for me. I hope this new responsibility will make me a better servant of all Hoosiers.”

Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron offered prayers for Cardinal-designate Tobin, who will become the first Detroit-born cardinal in the Church’s history during a Nov. 19 consistory at the Vatican.

“Over the long and faithful course of Cardinal Tobin’s priestly service, the Church in Detroit has taken justifiable pride in him as a native son. Today, especially, we rejoice with him and his family as Pope Francis recognizes him as an outstanding pastor, worthy to be particularly united to the Church in Rome,” Archbishop Vigneron said in a statement. “All of us in the Archdiocese (of Detroit) offer Cardinal Tobin and his family heartfelt congratulations and the pledge of our prayers as he takes up the new responsibilities which come with his being one of the Holy Father’s cardinals.”

With the new appointments, which also included two other U.S. cardinals — Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago and Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas — Pope Francis brings the total number of the College of Cardinals to 228. Besides being close advisers to the pope, cardinals under the age of 80 also carry the responsibility of electing the pope during a vacancy.

Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Donald F. Hanchon, a close friend of Cardinal-designate Tobin who later succeeded him as pastor of Holy Redeemer, called his friend’s appointment a “beautiful, unexpected choice.”

Pope Francis was familiar with Cardinal-designate Tobin from the time they spent together as delegates to the 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist in Rome, Bishop Hanchon said. Bishop Hanchon described Cardinal-designate Tobin as “easy to talk to,” which might literally have played a role in his meeting the future pope, he said.

“When they have these synods, they break up into language groups to discuss things, and the English-speaking slots were all filled,” Bishop Hanchon said. “Well, (Cardinal-designate Tobin) is a polyglot; he speaks French, Italian, German and Spanish. So he got a spot in the Spanish-speaking groups, and he sits down, and the person next to him is Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires. That’s how they got to know each other, and they became good friends.”

Bishop Hanchon said Cardinal-designate Tobin’s ease around the poor and downtrodden meshes well with the pope’s emphases — he was one of a handful of U.S. bishops to play an active role in welcoming Syrian refugees last year, and before that as pastor of Holy Redeemer worked to more fully integrate Hispanic immigrants into the parish’s life, the bishop said.

“He never comes across as somebody in authority who says ‘You’re going to do what I tell you to do and that’s it,’” Bishop Hanchon said. “He’s very quiet, a good listener, and a great storyteller.”

Keeping to his habit, several of Pope Francis’ other new cardinal appointments come from non-traditional countries, including the Central African Republic, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Venezuela and the tiny island of Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. In the U.S. the pope passed up traditional “cardinal sees” such as Philadelphia and Baltimore.

From 2010-12, Cardinal-designate Tobin served as secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life before being assigned to Indianapolis by Pope Benedict XVI.

Despite his high-level posts, Archbishop Tobin told The Michigan Catholic in a 2010 interview that “I carry a big part of southwest Detroit in my heart.”

The eldest of 13 children, Cardinal-designate Tobin grew up as a parishioner at Holy Redeemer and later became pastor of the largely Hispanic parish, working to build a multi-cultural community along with his fellow Redemptorists and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

After serving in Detroit, he later ministered in Chicago and in other national and international posts, including as superior general of the Redemptorists.

Born in Detroit in 1952, he entered the Redemptorist minor seminary in 1966, making his first profession Aug. 5, 1973. He completed his philosophy studies at Holy Redeemer College in Waterford, Wis., and his theology studies at Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary in Esopus, N.Y. He made his perpetual profession Aug. 21, 1976, and was ordained to the priesthood June 1, 1978.