Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David named new cardinal by Pope Francis

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Caloocan will be installed as a cardinal of the Catholic Church by Pope Francis in December, the Vatican City announced on Sunday.

David, who also serves as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is among the 21 new cardinals who are set to be installed in a consistory, as the ceremony is called, scheduled for December 8, 2024. He will become only the tenth Filipino to be elevated to the position.

Cardinals rank second only to the pope in the Church hierarchy and serve as his closest advisers. Their historical power and influence means they are still called the princes of the Church, though Francis has told them not to live like royalty and to be close to the poor.

The full list of Cardinal-elects is below:

1. H.E. Msgr. Angelo Acerbi, Apostolic Nuncio
2. H.E. Mgr. Carlos Gustavo CASTILLO MATTASOGLIO Archbishop of Lima (Peru)
3. H.E. Msgr. Vicente BOKALIC IGLIC C.M., Archbishop of Santiago del Estero (Primado de la Argentina).
4. H.E. Msgr. Luis Gerardo CABRERA HERRERA, O.F.M., Archbishop of Guayaquil (Ecuador).
5. H.E. Msgr. Fernando Natalio CHOMALÍ GARIB Archbishop of Santiago de Chile (Chile).
6. Archbishop Tarcisio Isao KIKUCHI, S.V.D., Archbishop of Tokyo (Japan).
7. H.E. Msgr. Pablo Virgilio SIONGCO DAVID, Bishop of Kalookan (Philippines).
8. H. E. Msgr. Ladislav NEMET, S.V.D., Archbishop of Beograd -Smederevo, (Serbia).
9. H.E. Msgr. Jaime SPENGLER, O.F.M., Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brasil).
10. H.E. Mgr Ignace BESSI DOGBO, Archbishop of Abidjan (Ivory Coast).
11. H.E. Mgr Jean-Paul VESCO, O.P., Archbishop of Alger (Algeria).
12. H.E. Mgr. Paskalis Bruno SYUKUR, O.F.M., Bishop of Bogor (Indonesia).
13. H. E. Msgr. Dominique Joseph MATHIEU, O.F.M. Conv., Archbishop of Tehran Ispahan (Iran).
14. H.E. Msgr. Roberto REPOLE, Archbishop of Turin (Italy).
15. H.E. Msgr. Baldassare REINA, Auxiliary Bishop of Rome, formerly Vice-gerent and, as of today, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome.
16. H.E. Msgr. Francis LEO, Archbishop of Toronto (Canada).
17. H.E. Msgr. Rolandas MAKRICKAS, Archpriest Coadjutor Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major.
18. H.E. Mgr Mykola BYCHOK, C.S.R., Bishop of the Eparchy Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne of the Ukrainians
19. R.P. Timothy Peter Joseph RADCLIFFE, OP, theologian
20. R. P. Fabio BAGGIO, C.S., Under Secretary Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development
21. Mgr George Jacob KOOVAKAD, Official of the Secretary of State, Responsible for Travel

David, who was elected CBCP president in 2021 and re-elected in 2023, has been a vocal critic of the past administration's bloody anti-drugs campaign and red-tagging.

He was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983, and was appointed auxiliary archbishop of the same archdiocese in 2006. He was transferred to the Caloocan diocese in 2015.

He was also elected as the next vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) in February 2024, and is set to officially assume the post January next year.

Also known by his nickname “Ambo,” David has been a priest for 41 years and a bishop for 18, after receiving a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

His relatives include his brother, sociologist and professor Randy David; and his niece, journalist and GMA Integrated News host Kara David, who posted a snippet of the Pope announcing her uncle's appointment on her Instagram page.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Kara David (@iamkaradavid)

David, who is currently in Rome for the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, will join the group of active Filipino cardinals that consists of Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle who is serving in the Vatican.

The coming consistory is set to be the 10th called by the pope since his election 11 years ago. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News