First Swedish bishop since the Reformation to be made a cardinal

Cardinal-designate Anders Arborelius said the appointment showed that even tiny groups of Catholics were important

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Cardinal-designate Anders Arborelius of Stockholm is Sweden's only Catholic bishop and the first native Swede to hold the post since the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s.

He was also the first Swede to be named a bishop in more than 400 years when he was named by St John Paul II to lead the country's lone diocese in 1998.

Now, Pope Francis will make him the first cardinal in Sweden's history when he is formally inducted into the College of Cardinals June 28 along with new cardinals from Mali, Spain, Laos and El Salvador.

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