Julia Christine Botin

Cardinal David off to Vatican for Pope Francis’ funeral, conclave

Article (news)

Jamaine Punzalan

ABS-CBN News

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174546010808020211214-cardinal-pablo-david-thanksgiving-MT31.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David at a Thanksgiving Mass at the San Roque Cathedral in Caloocan City on December 14, 2024.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David on Thursday left for the Vatican to attend Pope Francis’ funeral and the conclave.</p><p>“Off he goes—Cardinal Ambo on his way to pay his final respects to Pope Francis,” his Facebook page said in a 9 a.m. post with a photo of David in what appeared to be an airport. </p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdioceseofkalookan%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02FaqSrNanNBvRkJmiFshtM59w7RPjaakgvPY9nUxYStJXSJ3aNTjMob2GsRAn1C2ul&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=500" width="500" height="497" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>David, also the president of the Catholic Bishops&#x27; Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), earlier said he hoped to attend Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday.</p><p>“Alam naman nila hindi kadali bumiyahe mula sa ibang bansa papunta sa Roma. Ang main expectation talaga ay ang bawat cardinal siguraduhin na nandoon sila para sa conclave kasi doon kami boboto sa aming Santo Papa pero kung makarating sa funeral Mass, mas maganda,” he said.</p><div><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i-ylkG3-P9U" title="WATCH: Pope Francis&#x27; final appearance on Easter Sunday before his death | ABS--CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>CONCLAVE ‘NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST’ </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Pope Francis, 88, died of &quot;cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse&quot;, according to a death certificate released by the Vatican, which announced his death early on Monday morning.</p><p><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/23/the-world-leaders-set-to-attend-pope-francis-s-funeral-2257">World leaders </a>and faithful from across the globe are expected to flock to Rome to attend the ceremony and pay their respects to the leader of the world&#x27;s 1.4 billion Catholics.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/23/vatican-declares-nine-days-of-mourning-for-pope-from-saturday-0148">Vatican declares nine days of mourning for pope from Saturday</a></div><p>A conclave of cardinals will later be convened to elect his successor.</p><p>“We don’t succumb to the popularity game,” David said of the conclave.</p><p>“From experience, it’s the people who are not talked about who get elected,” he said in an ANC interview on Wednesday.</p><p>“It only means that the conclave is really a product of discernment… Whoever becomes pope will really have to be an instrument of unity in a very fractured and very divided world,” he added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/23/forget-the-film-vatican-is-preparing-for-the-real-conclave-0647">Forget the film: Vatican is preparing for the real &#x27;Conclave&#x27;</a></div><p>The starting date of the conclave, during which 135 so-called &quot;cardinal electors&quot; will choose Francis&#x27;s successor, is not yet known.</p><p>But it should begin no less than 15 and no more than 20 days after the death of the pope -- thus between May 5 and May 10.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/23/filipino-faithful-urged-to-refrain-from-campaigning-for-cardinal-tagle-as-next-pope-0013">Filipino faithful urged to refrain from &#x27;campaigning&#x27; for Cardinal Tagle as next Pope</a></div><p>The cardinals will meet in the Sistine Chapel, a Renaissance jewel adorned with Michelangelo&#x27;s celebrated frescoes, and hold four ballots a day -- two in the morning and two in the afternoon -- until one candidate wins two-thirds of the votes.</p><p>At the end of each session, the ballots are burned in a stove by the chapel, releasing smoke above the Apostolic Palace as the world watches.</p><p>If black smoke billows from a chimney overlooking St Peter&#x27;s Square, the vote has been unsuccessful.</p><p>White smoke signals a new pope has been elected.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/doJVLiN6_Z4" title="WATCH: Pope Francis&#x27; body taken in procession to St Peter&#x27;s for lying in state | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iUcIGLRH1ho" title="Philippine church leaders hold Requiem Mass for Pope Francis | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David on Thursday left for the Vatican to attend Pope Francis’ funeral and the conclave.</p>

Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David on Thursday left for the Vatican to attend Pope Francis’ funeral and the conclave.