Manila archdiocese now 'sede vacante' as Cardinal Tagle leaves for Vatican

Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle left for Rome, Italy on Sunday evening to head one of the congregations or divisions in Vatican City, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, the Office of Communications of the Archdiocese of Manila said.

With his departure, the Manila archdiocese is considered "sede vacante", the term for the vacancy of a See or seat of an archbishop or bishop.

The Apostolic administrator, in the absence of an archbishop in Manila, is Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo.

Cardinal Tagle celebrated his last Mass in Manila at the Manila Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese, on Sunday morning.

After the mass, he was presented with his coat of arms set on marble at the central nave or aisle of the centuries-old church as is the tradition for archbishops before him.

Fr. Reginald R. Malicdem, Tagle’s personal secretary and Manila Cathedral rector said, “This signifies that you will be remembered in all the prayers and Masses offered in this cathedral.  This is also a sign that you continue to be a clergy of the Archdiocese of Manila. You still belong to us.  And this is an assurance that you always have a home in this cathedral.”

Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Tagle as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples last December 2019. He succeeds Cardinal Fernando Filoni.

The Office of Communications of the Archdiocese of Manila said Cardinal Tagle left for Rome on Sunday evening to “take on his new mission at the Vatican.”

“He asks for prayers as he also promises to remember us all in his. Arrivederci, Cardinal Chito!” it said.

Tagle was Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020.

He serves as the president Caritas International and the Catholic Biblical Federation.

Before his appointment to head the Manila archdiocese, he was bishop of the Diocese of Imus in Cavite for almost 10 years.

He studied at the Ateneo de Manila University and the Catholic University of America.

Tagle was ordained priest in February 1982 and was consecrated a bishop by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, a former Manila archbishop, in December 2001.

He was then appointed a cardinal by Pope Francis in November 2012.

His installation into his new position at the Vatican is set on Feb. 10, 2020. —KG, GMA News