of Bishops and Titular Archbishop of Doclea by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 15 September from John Paul. On 18 October 1979 he became a member of the Pontifical Commission for the interpretation of the decrees of the Second Vatican Council. Tomko was named Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on 24 April 1985 and Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. Cardinal John Paul II created him Cardinal-Deacon of Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola in the consistory of 25 May 1985. He was then named prefect of his congregation. During his tenure, he became a close confidant of Pope John Paul, and served as a special papal envoy to several religious celebrations. He was named a member of the Presynodal Council for Special Synod of Asian Bishops in September 1995. After ten years as a cardinal deacon, he opted for order of Cardinal Priests and assumed the titular church of S. Sabina on 29 January 1996. Eucharistic congresses Tomko was appointed President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses on 23 October 2001. In this post, he presided over the Holy See's delegation to the Interreligious Congress in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 23 to 24 September 2003. As papal legate he chaired the 48th International Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in October 2004. Upon the death of John Paul II on 2 April 2005, Tomko and all major Vatican officials automatically lost their positions. He was confirmed as president of International Eucharistic Congresses by Pope Benedict XVI on 21 April. Tomko retired as president on 1 October 2007. Later work Pope Benedict XVI established a Commission of Cardinals to investigate leaks of reserved and confidential documents on television, in newspapers, and in other communications media. It first met on 24 April 2012. Cardinal Herranz served as the chair and the other members were Cardinals Tomko and Salvatore De Giorgi. At the papal inauguration of Pope Francis on 19 March 2013, Tomko was one of the six cardinals who made the public act of obedience on behalf of the College of Cardinals to the new pope. In February 2015 he attended the consistory of cardinals on issues of reform of the Roman Curia. Tomko became the oldest living member of the College of Cardinals upon the death of Cardinal Albert Vanhoye on 29 July 2021. Tomko died in Rome on 8