Manila archbishop Advincula meets Pope Francis

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula met with Pope Francis on Thursday last week, the first time since he was elevated to cardinal in November 2020. The Archdiocese of Manila did not provide details about the private meeting of Advincula and Pope Francis, but it noted the information provided by Fr. Gregory Ramon Gaston, rector of the Pontificio Colegio Filipino in Rome.

Gaston reported that Advincula had a “private audience” with Pope Francis before 10 a.m. at the Vatican. The cardinal also met by chance the Archbishop of Reims Réélu Most Reverend Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of France.

Advincula, he added, paid a courtesy visit to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re who is a member of the Dean of College of Cardinals. Re was the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops when Advincula was installed bishop of the diocese of San Carlos in Negros Occidental in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.

As part of his visit to the Holy See, Advincula also met with Philippine ambassador Myla Grace Macahilig and Most Rev. Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy where Advincula is a member.

“We are honored to host our distinguished alumnus Cardinal Advincula during these days of his meetings and pilgrimage. He was named cardinal last year, as the Collegio celebrated its 60th year of life and service to the Church, especially back home in the Philippines,” Gaston said.

He noted that Advincula has been continuously sending priests to the Collegio for further studies and to strengthen the seminaries and other diocesan ministries in the Philippines.

Advincula was supposed to meet with Pope Francis in November 2020 for his consistory in Rome, but that did not push through due to COVID-19 travel restrictions both in the Philippines and Rome.

He was designated as the 33rd archbishop of Manila on June 24.