Pope Francis on Saturday formally elevated Pablo Virgilio David to a cardinal of the Catholic Church.
David was inducted by the Pope at the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica.
Joining current Filipino cardinals Jose Advincula of Manila and Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, David is the tenth Filipino cardinal and serves as the bishop of Kalookan.
During the ceremony, David was given a cardinal ring, a tube containing documents proclaiming his new status as cardinal, and a red biretta. He will also be assigned a titular church in Rome.
In his homily, Francis reminded the 21 new cardinals to not be tired of walking in the path of Jesus and to do their mission as “builders of communion and unity” instead of falling prey to competition.
“Let us not forget that being tired ruins your heart. Those who are tired are first to be corrupted. To walk in the path of Jesus means, in the end, to be builders of communion and unity,” he said.
“The Lord is looking at you, you who come from different backgrounds and cultures and represent the Catholicity of the church. He is calling you to be witnesses of fraternity, to be artisans of communion, and builders of unity, and this is your mission,” he added.
The new cardinals come from a wide array of countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Italy, Britain, Serbia, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, Ivory Coast, the Philippines, and Algeria.
The list contains 20 who are under the age of 80 and therefore able to vote in the conclave to elect a new pope after Francis’s death or resignation.
By the start of next year, there will be 140 cardinal electors, almost 80% of them chosen by Francis. This increases the possibility that the next pope will share his vision of a more progressive, inclusive Church.
Cardinals rank second only to the pope in the church hierarchy and serve as his closest advisers. Their historical power and influence mean they are still called the princes of the Church, though Francis has told them not to live like royalty and to be close to the poor.
The Pope said that the new cardinals are “a radiant sign in the midst of society obsessed with appearances and power” when they follow Jesus.
“Love one another with fraternal love, and be servants to one another… servants of the gospel. Dear brothers, let us walk in the way of Jesus together with humility, wonder, and love,” he said.
David’s promotion to cardinal was announced on October 6.
On October 10, David met with the Pope ahead of his induction.
“Bishop Ambo arrived early at the Synod Hall. He discovered that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, had also arrived ahead of schedule. Approaching his table, the bishop introduced himself in Spanish, saying, ‘Santo Padre, I am the Bishop from the Philippines. You’ve changed my life again!’” a post by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Kalookan said.
David was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983 and was appointed auxiliary archbishop of the same archdiocese in 2006. He was transferred to the Kaloocan diocese in 2015.
David is currently the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. —with a report from Reuters/VBL, GMA Integrated News
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