Vidal turns 82 today

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal is celebrating his 82nd birthday today.

He will be officiating a mass this morning at 10 o'clock at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

Last night, The Hermits of Tumalog, an assist ministry for renewal of priests, conducted a joint dinner birthday party and dinner for a cause to celebrate God's "beautiful gifts of life" for Vidal and retired Msgr. Alfeo Manalili, who turned 75 last February 2.

All donations of the concert, held at the Pope John XXIII Seminary Covered Court in Mabolo, Cebu City, will go to the projects of The Hermits of Tumalog in Oslob, Cebu.

Vidal retired as Archbishop of Cebu in 2011, succeeded by Archbishop Jose S. Palma.

He was born on February 6, 1931 at Mogpog, Marinduque.

Ordained as a priest on March 17, 1956, Vidal became the spiritual director of the Seminary of Mount Carmel. He was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Malolos in 1971 and in 1973, was appointed Archbishop of Lipa, Batangas.

After eight years in Lipa, Cardinal Vidal received information that he was about to be transferred to Cebu.

As narrated in a website containing his biography and as confirmed by Msgr. Achilles Dakay, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu:

"He did not like his new assignment so he traveled to Rome and asked for an audience with Pope John Paul II. The secretariat warned him that he was wasting his time, and he could save some of the Pope's time by not seeking an audience. But he insisted. He carefully prepared what he was going to tell the Pope, explaining that he liked his assignment in Lipa because he was doing good work, and he spoke the local dialect. If he were to be transferred to Cebu, the people there speak the Bisaya dialect, which he would have to work hard to learn."

"The Pope listened quietly, and when he was through, put his hand on then Archbishop Vidal's arm and explained, "You know I am from Poland, and they have assigned me to stay here in Rome with all the Italians."

With that, Cardinal Vidal went back to the Philippines and accepted the post as Co-Adjutor Bishop," the website added.

Vidal helped found the Catechist Missionaries of St. Theresa, a Catholic religious order. Vidal was proclaimed Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of May 25, 1985.

He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI, the only Filipino Cardinal to have joined the 2005 conclave due to Jaime Cardinal Sin's poor health.

He celebrated his 25th year as a cardinal in 2010.

Though he initially resisted being in Cebu, spending three decades here have made him an adopted son of Cebu City and endeared him to Cebuanos. Vidal now lives in Banilad, Cebu City. — (FREEMAN)