Anthony Poola

Anthony Poola (born 15 November 1961) is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Metropolitan Archbishop of Hyderabad since 2021. He was Bishop of Kurnool from 2008 to 2020. Before becoming a bishop, he worked as a priest of the Diocese of Cuddapah. He became president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) in 2026.

On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis made Poola a Cardinal, the first Dalit and the first Telugu to hold that rank.

Biography Anthony Poola was born on 15 November 1961 in Chindukur, Durvesi Parish, in the Diocese of Kurnool. When poverty forced him to leave school after the seventh grade, missionaries took an interest in him and helped him continue his schooling. After attending the Minor Seminary in Nuzvid, he studied at St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary in Bangalore. He was ordained a priest on 20 February 1992 and incardinated in the Diocese of Cuddapah.

On 19 November 2020, Pope Francis appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of Hyderabad. He was installed there on 3 January 2021.

On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis made him a cardinal priest, assigning him the title of Santi Protomartiri a Via Aurelia Antica. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India elected him to a two-year term as president on 7 February 2026.