Cardinal Tagle: My mission was to elect a pope, not become a pope

Laughing off talks that he was a strong contender to become a pope, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said on Thursday his mission was to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church and not to become the pope. Arriving in Manila from the Vatican on Thursday, Tagle laughed when asked if he ever aspired to be pontiff. “You know it was very clear to me that the task, the mission of the cardinals, is to elect the new pope, and not to have yourself elected,” Tagle said during a press conference aired live on GMA News TV. “That is quite a different mission. Malinaw sa akin ang participation ko 'dun ay tumulong sa pagpili ng papa, hindi para maging papa,” added Tagle, who was one of the 115 cardinals who were part of the conclave that elected the new pope. Seen as a good communicator and humble cardinal, Tagle has been tagged as a papabile – or a papal contender – in media reports both local and abroad. Social media analysts also said that Tagle was the most active papabile on social media. Argentinian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – who chose the name Pope Francis –  was elected on March 14 (Manila time) to lead the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide. Francis, 76, is the 266th pontiff in the Church's 2,000-year history. He is the oldest of the possible candidates and was not among the small group of frontrunners predicted before the conclave. Pope Francis succeeded Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger or Benedict XVI who stepped down on February due to health reasons. Shocked Manila Archbishop Emeritus Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, who also arrived from the Vatican on Thursday, said they were shocked that Bergoglio – who was not included in the frontrunners to be Pope – was chosen. “Mayroong joke na kumakalat sa Roma eh, bakit itong si (Pope Francis) ay hindi kasama (top) 10 o 12. Ang sabi ko, bakit ganun ang surprise? Kasi raw ang Espirito Santo, hindi nagbabasa ng social communication at hindi nanood ng CNN at BBC,” Rosales said while laughing. “Everybody was shocked really on what had happened,” Rosales said.  Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal also arrived from the Vatican but proceeded to Cebu. Pope Francis in the Philippines? Rosales said he expects Pope Francis to visit the Philippines on 2016 for the International Eucharistic Congress which will be held in Cebu. “May malaking event na may mangyayari sa Pilipinas sa 2016 – and that is the International Eucharistic Congress which will be done in Cebu. We have an inkling, we have a feeling that he might, he might,” Rosales said in the press conference. He has also told the new Pope that “we are going to prepare for your first pastoral visit to the Philippines.” - Marc Jayson Cayabyab, VVP, GMA News