MANILA, Philippines — Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David will soon become the third active Filipino cardinal after Pope Francis elevated his rank.
The pontiff yesterday named the 21 new cardinals after the noon Angelus in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
David is at the Vatican for the Synod of Synodality’s general assembly. He is in his second term as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
On Dec. 8, the new “princes” of the Church will join the College of Cardinals, a body tasked with selecting the next pope.
As of yesterday, 122 of 236 cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in a future conclave.
David will be the 10th Filipino cardinal.
He has been vocal against the drug war killings under former president Rodrigo Duterte.
David lamented how Duterte’s anti-illegal drug campaign had turned his diocese, which covers the cities of Caloocan, Navotas and Malabon, into a “killing field.”