Ranchi, Oct. 21: Wednesday was special for Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo. It was on this date 12 years ago that he became the Cardinal.

Today, a large number of priests and nuns converged at the Archbishop House in Ranchi, Toppo's official residence for the past three decades, to congratulate him.

"I am thankful to God for giving me an opportunity to serve the Church, my people and my country. I have been faithful to my call and have given my utmost in fulfilling the various responsibilities entrusted on me from time to time. I leave it to the people to judge whether I have been a success or a failure," Toppo told The Telegraph.

Born on October 15, 1939, at Jhargaon village in Chainpur block of Gumla district, Toppo was ordained a priest on May 3, 1969, at Himmelried in Switzerland. He was made the Bishop of Dumka, Jharkhand, on June 8, 1978, and installed as Archbishop of Ranchi on August 25, 1985. He was elevated to the position of the Cardinal by then Pope John Paul II on October 21, 2003.

"God has showered on me numerous blessings. I was to die even before birth as my mother had developed complications during labour. I was born with my tongue tied, a congenital anomaly that restricts speech. God helped me out of this crisis. My father died when I was a child. My mother was poor and could barely keep me in school. I had taken up the job to dig a well so that I could earn something and continue with my studies. A clergyman had proclaimed that I would one day become a priest," he said.