MANILA—Pope Francis has named Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle cardinal-bishop, elevating the former Manila archbishop to the highest order among his closest collaborators in the Roman Catholic Church.

The new title, announced on May 1, is a fitting designation given the 62-year-old Tagle’s immense responsibility as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Vatican’s main missionary department.

The order of cardinal-bishop is the highest in the College of Cardinals, with Francis adding curial officials to the rank in 2018.

They are assigned to the Vatican with special roles assigned by the Pope, said Fr. Gregory Gaston Gaston, rector of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome.

Other cardinals belong to either the order of cardinal-deacons, who are also assigned to Vatican offices, or the order of cardinal-priests, who run dioceses around the world.

There are now 11 cardinal-bishops in Roman Catholic Church, from the traditional 6 who hold ceremonial titles over ancient dioceses around Rome.