Pope Francis has elevated Diocese of Kalookan (Caloocan) Bishop Pablo Virgilio David to the rank of cardinal, becoming the 10th Filipino to hold the title.
David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), received his red hat, along with 20 others, during a consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday (early Sunday morning, PH time).
The CBCP News said the event was the Holy Father’s 10th consistory to create new cardinals from six continents during his 11-year pontificate.
During the ceremony, the new cardinals recited the Creed to make a profession of faith, then took an oath of fidelity and obedience before the pope and his successors.
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, Pope 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.
Each cardinal approached the pope, kneeled before him to receive the red biretta, the cardinal’s ring, and a document naming their titular church.
Pope Francis encouraged the group of 21 to “walk in the way of Jesus: together, with humility, wonder and joy.”
He reminded the prelates who received the red hat that just as Jesus’ ascent to Jerusalem was not an ascent to worldly glory but to the glory of God, they too must put the Lord at the centre and be builders of communion and unity, according to Vatican News.
Ordained priest of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga in 1983, David was named auxiliary bishop there in 2006 at the age of 47.
In 2015, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan. David has been president of the CBCP since 2021.
In February, he was elected vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
Meanwhile, a thanksgiving mass will be held on Dec. 14, with the venue to be announced soon.
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.
