Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), preaching from his cathedra during a Holy Mass. File photo from Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News 

SAN ROQUE-CALOOCAN

Erik Tenedero

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/172826990161620241007031032_56934a38dbd6b5f3402b641499ee55d99e6a7a4d33cc6ff8cd3b226d45452c92.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops&#x27; Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), preaching from his cathedra during a Holy Mass. File photo from Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner"><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops&#x27; Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), preaching from his cathedra during a Holy Mass. File photo from Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</span> </span></span></span></div><p>Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, was enjoying a simple, quiet Sunday morning in Rome when he started receiving a deluge of messages at noontime.</p><p>He was relishing his first eight full hours of sleep after many busy days and was preparing a homily for an afternoon Holy Mass.</p><p>One of the first messages came from the procurator of the Collegio Filippino, a &quot;home in Rome&quot; for Filipino diocesan priests pursuing further studies in the Eternal City, and where the bishop was staying.</p><p>David was in Rome to attend the General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.</p><p>&quot;The procurator at the Collegio sent me congratulatory message on WhatsApp. I texted back and said, &#x27;For what?&#x27;&quot; David recounted on his Facebook page.</p><p>&quot;He texted again and said, &#x27;Na-announce po na Cardinal kayo&#x27; (You were announced as new cardinal). I texted back and said, &#x27;Joke?!&#x27;</p><p>It was not a joke.</p><p>David, president of the Catholic Bishops&#x27; Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), was indeed <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/6/pope-francis-picks-phs-bishop-pablo-david-as-new-cardinal-1926">chosen by the pontiff</a> as among the 21 men from all over the world who will be made a cardinal in a consistory set on December 8, 2024.</p><p>Pope Francis made the surprise announcement after the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer.</p><p>The college&#x27;s procurator then called the bishop to insist that it was not a joke and then sent him a copy of the video from the Vatican newsfeed showing the pope announcing the names of the new cardinals.</p><p>&quot;I began to receive a deluge of messages. It felt like being caught in a whirlwind. I put down the phone and did a five-minute breathing exercise, which instantly calmed me down,&quot; the bishop said.</p><p>Before this, David recounted that his phone rang before noon but chose to ignore it thinking the call would be expensive since he was still using a Philippine SIM card.</p><p>As the rush of the news slowly faded, he realized it was probably someone from the Vatican trying to inform him of Pope Francis&#x27;s decision before the official announcement.  </p><p>&quot;Now it felt like Elijah standing by the mouth of a cave and feeling a soft breeze that penetrated my soul and prepared me for this new chapter of my life and ministry as a bishop, as a servant of God&#x27;s people. I said, &#x27;Ok, Lord. My life is in your hands,&#x27;&quot; he said.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1728269948661462242064_10226211571252789_3280212813826437848_n.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A DELUGE OF MESSAGES. Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David shared one of the messages he received when Pope Francis announced him as a new cardinal. Photo from the bishop&#x27;s Facebook page"/><span class="fr-inner">A DELUGE OF MESSAGES. Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David shared one of the messages he received when Pope Francis announced him as a new cardinal. Photo from the bishop&#x27;s Facebook page</span></span></span></div><p>Known to Filipinos as Bishop Ambo, he is set to become the country&#x27;s 10th cardinal.</p><p>The last Filipino prelate chosen as cardinal was Manila <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/29/20/capiz-archbishop-jose-advincula-now-a-cardinal">Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula</a> during his time as Capiz archbishop. Meanwhile, the first Filipino to be made a cardinal was Rufino Santos, the late archbishop of Manila.</p><p>Once David officially enters the College of Cardinals in the December ceremony, he will be the third Filipino cardinal eligible to vote in a possible conclave to elect a new pope, along with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Advincula.</p><p>Cardinals who are already over the age of 80 are no longer eligible to vote in a conclave but are allowed to attend the meetings prior to the election.  </p><p>Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has veered away from choosing cardinals among the traditional ecclesiastical seats that usually get the &quot;red hat.&quot;</p><p>Instead, the pontiff has handpicked men who are cut from the same pastoral cloth of focusing on the neglected peripheries of society.</p><p>Here, Bishop Ambo was an obvious choice.</p><p>A champion of human rights and care for the poor, the prelate did not shy away from threats and attacks when he criticized former president Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s bloody war on illegal drugs.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/21/17/why-always-in-my-diocese-caloocan-bishop-calls-for-end-to-drug-killings">• Why always in my diocese? Caloocan bishop calls for end to drug killings</a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/08/18/18/woe-to-you-and-your-children-bishop-speaks-out-against-drug-war-killers-supporters">• &#x27;Woe to you and your children!&#x27;: Bishop speaks out against drug war killers, supporters</a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/08/16/23/bishop-david-condemns-jemboys-killing-at-polices-hands">• &#x27;Hindi kayo ang batas&#x27;: Bishop David condemns Jemboy&#x27;s killing at the hands of police</a></div><p>He has since introduced several programs in the diocese for community-based drug rehabilitation programs.</p><p>Born in Betis, a district in Pampanga known for master woodcarvers of sacred arts, David is a prominent Bible scholar.</p><p>The 65-year-old bishop obtained his licentiate and doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.</p><p>Meanwhile, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Pre-Divinity from Ateneo and his master’s degree in Theology from the Loyola School of Theology.</p><p>Cardinals, traditionally called &quot;princes of the Church,&quot; serve as advisers to the pontiff. However, their main duty is to attend the conclave where they elect a new pope in case of a papal death or abdication.  </p><p>Among the new cardinals, Bishop Ambo is joined by three other prelates from Asia: Bogor Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur from Indonesia, Tokyo Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi from Japan, and Tehran Ispahan Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu from Iran.</p><p>Others include clergymen from Canada, the pope&#x27;s home country of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and Serbia.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2voRMv5dxco?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David likened it to a whirlwind after Pope Francis announced that he was chosen to become a cardinal. </p>

Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David likened it to a whirlwind after Pope Francis announced that he was chosen to become a cardinal.

'Like being caught in a whirlwind': How Bishop David found out Pope chose him as new cardinal | ABS-CBN

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'Like being caught in a whirlwind': How Bishop David found out Pope chose him as new cardinal

'Like being caught in a whirlwind': How Bishop David found out Pope chose him as new cardinal

Erik Tenedero,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 07, 2024 10:59 AM PHT

|

Updated Oct 07, 2024 01:27 PM PHT

Read More:

Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David

Bishop Ambo

Diocese of Kalookan

CBCP

CBCP President

Pope Francis

College of Cardinals

Vatican

Rome

Catholic Church

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