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Meet the 3 Filipino cardinal electors: 2 Jesuit-trained, 1 Thomasian
There will be 135 cardinals eligible to vote for the 267th pope in the Conclave that will start on May 7, information from the press office of the Holy See showed.
There are 53 cardinal electors from Europe, 16 from North America, four from Central America, 17 from South America, 18 from Africa, 23 from Asia, and four from Oceania.
However, two cardinals will not be able to participate in the Conclave due to health reasons. On Monday, Vatican officials revealed that one is from Spain and one from Kenya.
And of the 133 cardinal electors, who will participate in the Conclave that will begin on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, three are Filipino cardinals.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News and The Varsitarian reports that this conclave will have the most number of Filipino cardinal electors, namely Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Cardinal Jose Advincula, and Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David.
Cardinals Orlando Quevedo and Gaudencio Rosales cannot participate in the papal election since they are over 80 years old. The Filipino prelates, however, may join the preparatory General Congregations of the College of Cardinals.
Among the three Filipino cardinal electors, two are Jesuit-trained and one is a Thomasian.
Cardinal Jose Advincula
Cardinal Advincula was born in March 1952 in Dumalag, Capiz.
He entered the high school seminary of Saint Pius X in Roxas City, where he also remained for his philosophical studies. He finished his bachelor’s degree in theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
In 1976, Advincula was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Capiz.
He then earned his licentiate degree in canon law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
Advincula was appointed Rector of Saint Pius X Seminary in Capiz, becoming also Defender of the Bond, Promoter of Justice, and Judicial Vicar in Capiz.
He was named Bishop of San Carlos on July 25, 2001 and served as a member of the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Commission for Indigenous Peoples in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Pope Francis proclaimed Advincula as cardinal on November 28, 2020 and named him Archbishop of Manila on March 25, 2021.
Advincula will be the first alumnus of the University of Santo Tomas, who will participate in the conclave.
According to The Varsitarian, "the first Filipino Thomasian cardinal, Jose Tomas Sanchez, was over the age limit and thus ineligible to vote in the 2005 conclave that elected Joseph Ratzinger to be the next pope. The German prelate took the name Benedict XVI."
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David
Cardinal David was born in March 1959 in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga.
He attended secondary school at the Mother of Good Counsel Minor Seminary. He did philosophy studies at the Ateneo de Manila University and his theology course at the Loyola School of Theology.
He was ordained priest on March 12, 1983 for the Archdiocese of San Fernando.
He acquired a licentiate and doctorate in sacred theology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
David held several roles in the educational team of the San Fernando archdiocese seminary. He also authored several publications on Holy Scriptures.
In 2002, he was appointed director of the Department of Theology of the seminary, continued teaching Sacred Scripture.
In the same year, he was chosen vice president of the Association of Catholic Biblists of the Philippines and vice president of the Archdiocesan Media Apostolate Networks.
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed David as titular bishop of Guardialfiera and auxiliary bishop of San Fernando.
David has been bishop of Kalookan since 2016 and is currently CBCP president.
He was formally elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, along with 20 others, on Dec. 7, 2024.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
Cardinal Tagle was born in June 1957 in Manila.
He studied philosophy at the Ateneo de Manila University and theology at the Loyola School of Theology.
In 1982, Tagle was ordained priest and served as spiritual director of the Diocesan Theological Seminary in Imus for three years, of which he was later rector.
He earned a license in sacred theology in 1987 and a doctorate with summa cum laude in 1991.
In 1985 he was sent to the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. to study systematic theology. He earned a licence in sacred theology in 1987 and a doctorate with summa cum laude in 1991.
Tagle joined the editorial committee of the Institute for Religious Sciences of Bologna, involved in drafting the history of the Second Vatican Council. In 1997 he was appointed member of the International Theological Commission and in 1998 took part as an expert in the Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops.
He was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22, 2021 and Archbishop of Manila on October 13, 2011.
He participated in the conclave of March 2013, which elected Pope Francis.
In May 2015 he was appointed president of Caritas Internationalis.
In December 2019, Pope Francis appointed Tagle prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
He is a member of the following:
Dicasteries: for Culture and Education; for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; for the Oriental Churches; for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; for Legislative Texts; for Inter-religious Dialogue; for Evangelization - Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World
Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See;
Cardinal Commission for the Supervision of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR);
Council of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State.
Reuters reported that the cardinals from different parts of the world have been meeting on a near daily basis since the day after Francis' death on April 21 to discuss the state of the 1.4-billion-member Church, with the numbers of participating clerics gradually swelling.
Two cardinals are often mentioned in the run up to the Conclave, namely Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
The cardinals will hold a second session of talks on Monday afternoon, with a final round expected on Tuesday. Two Vatican guest houses will house the cardinals during the conclave, when they will be barred from contact with the outside world.
Meanwhile, the College of Cardinals has asked the people for prayers a few days before the conclave.
"The College of Cardinals gathered in Rome, engaged in the General Congregations in preparation for the Conclave, wishes to invite the People of God to live this ecclesial moment as an event of grace and spiritual discernment, listening to the will of God," according to the statement from the Holy See. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
