MANILA (UCAN): After two postponements, Jose Cardinal Advincula, the new archbishop of Manila, received his cardinal’s red hat and ring on June 18 from Archbishop Charles John Brown, the papal nuncio to the Philippines, in his archdiocese in Capiz province in the Visayas region.
The event made history as Cardinal Advincula became the first archbishop of Manila to receive the red hat in the Philippines after having had to miss a consistory in Rome last November due to Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) restrictions.
Only two bishops and 12 priests attended the celebration along with several churchgoers.
“I (had) expected to serve Capiz until the Lord called me back to him. But this (was) just my expectation. The Holy Father has called me to go to Manila and I have to obey,” the cardinal said in his homily.
“Please accompany me with your prayers as I journey into this new field of ministry,” he said.
Archbishop Brown said it is “very rare” for new cardinals to receive their red hat and ring outside of Rome.
“This celebration very infrequently takes place outside of Rome … that is why today we do this with extraordinary joy,” Archbishop Brown said in his speech during the Mass.
“So, we wish Cardinal Advincula all the best in his final days here in Capiz and we promise that we will pray for him,” the archbishop said.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal Advincula’s installation as the 33rd archbishop of Manila took place on June 24 at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Intramuros, Manila.
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Father Reginald Malicdem, rector of Manila Cathedral, said the event would be in line with the pope’s call for priests to live a simple lifestyle.
“The celebrations will be very simple. We will follow the liturgical guidelines. No fanfare,” Father Malicdem told reporters.
“We will just be balancing between the celebration and being conscious of the situation because of the pandemic,” he said.
“The cathedral has an actual capacity of 2,500 but we will only allow 400 people inside to follow pandemic protocols. This is also for the common good … We wish to ask everyone to just join the celebration through the livestreaming,” Father Malicdem said.
After his installation, Cardinal Advincula is expected to celebrate Mass with lay leaders of the biggest archdiocese in the Philippines. This will be followed by another Mass on June 26 with men and women from various religious congregations.
It has also been a tradition for Manila archbishops to visit depressed areas of the archdiocese after their installation.
Cardinal Advincula is expected to visit a slum area in Manila like his predecessor Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who visited Manila’s biggest dumpsite.
