Pope Francis greets Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, during a meeting with U.S. bishops from New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Nov. 28, 2019. In March 2021, Francis named Tobin a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the office that advises the pope on the nomination of bishops. (CNS/Vatican Media)
by OSV News
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Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark continues to recover from surgery he underwent Oct. 29 to remove a mass from his kidney and will not be making public appearances for some weeks, an Archdiocese of Newark spokesperson confirmed Nov. 9.
The spokesperson told OSV News that an update on his condition posted to the archdiocesan website a few days after his surgery remained current.
"The procedure went as planned, with no complications, and his surgeon was pleased with the outcome. He returned home on Friday (Oct. 30) to continue his recovery and will refrain from public appearances for several weeks," the archdiocese said in its post Nov. 2.
"Cardinal Tobin is grateful to his medical team for their skilled, compassionate care and to the faithful for their many prayers and expressions of support. Please continue to keep him in your prayers," it said.
The archdiocese said it appreciated people's "understanding and respect for Cardinal Tobin's privacy during this time," and added that messages of support and well wishes could be mailed to the cardinal care of the Archdiocese of Newark's Office of Communications.
On Oct. 28, when the Newark Archdiocese announced the cardinal would undergo surgery, it said that "testing to date indicates that the mass appears confined to the kidney, and his doctors are optimistic about his outlook. Examination of the mass following surgery will determine its nature and help guide any further treatment."
Tobin, 74, said in a statement he was "deeply grateful to the skilled and compassionate medical professionals who are guiding my care and preparing my treatment plan."
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"Above all, I place my complete trust in Christ our Redeemer, whose loving presence sustains me in all things," the prelate added. "I humbly ask for your prayers and support during this time. God willing, I look forward to resuming my full duties within a few weeks after surgery."
A native of Detroit and a member of the Redemptorist congregation, the cardinal has served as the sixth archbishop of Newark since his installation on Jan. 6, 2017. Prior to that he served as the sixth archbishop of Indianapolis, from 2012 until Pope Francis named him Newark's archbishop on Nov. 7, 2016. Francis made Tobin a cardinal on Nov. 19, 2016.
Over the years, Tobin has served on several Vatican bodies. In August 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him secretary to what is now called the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Francis named him to the Dicastery for Bishops, the Synod of Bishops as well as the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Culture — which were merged in June 2022 to become the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
The Archdiocese of Newark spans four counties in northern New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union. It is one of the smallest archdioceses in the United States by geographic area, but one of the largest by Catholic population: It has about 1.3 million Catholics out of a total population of over 3.1 million.
