Pope Francis elevates Philippine bishop as cardinal

MANILA, Philippines — Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David was formally elevated by Pope Francis to the rank of cardinal on Dec. 7.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reported that this makes the 65-year-old David the 10th Filipino cardinal in history.

David, along with 20 others from different countries, received his red hat during a consistory that took place at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

He told CBCPNews in an interview that since he will retain his rank as a bishop, “I think I’m the first non-archbishop of the Philippines who has been appointed as cardinal. As far as I know, I would not be given another special assignment. So far, the special assignment that I have received is to be a member of the Synodal Council.”

David, who was born in Pampanga, is also the current president of the CBCP, vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference and head of the Diocese of Kalookan.

It was also Pope Francis who appointed him as bishop of Kalookan in 2015.

The nine other Filipino cardinals are Rufino Santos, Julio Rosales, Jaime Sin, Ricardo Vidal, Jose Sanchez, Gaudencio Rosales, Luis Antonio Tagle, Orlando Quevedo and Jose Advincula.

The country has five cardinals, but only three of them are “cardinal electors” or those eligible to vote for a new pope. These are Tagle (Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization), Advincula (Archbishop of Manila) and David.

The pope, in his homily, encouraged the new cardinals to “walk in the way of Jesus: together, with humility, wonder and joy.”

“To walk in the path of Jesus means above all to return to him and to put him back at the center of everything,” Pope Francis said.

“To walk in the path of Jesus also means to cultivate a passion for encounter,” he continued, noting that “Jesus never walked alone.”

After the consistory, the College of Cardinals now has 256 members, including 141 electors and 115 non-electors.