Jamaine Punzalan

Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle during the La Naval Mass and procession in honor of the image of the Lady of La-Naval held at the Manila Cathedral as it visits the Letran University on its 400th anniversary in Intramuros, Manila, January 24, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (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/174650196132620200124-manila-cathedral-la-naval-JC-1603.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle during the La Naval Mass and procession in honor of the image of the Lady of La-Naval held at the Manila Cathedral as it visits the Letran University on its 400th anniversary in Intramuros, Manila, January 24, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File </span></span></span></div><p>Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle may be one of the favorites to be named the next pope, but a Catholic Sister who has known him for half a century says she will never pray for it to happen.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m afraid of the politics in Rome,&quot; Sister Marilena Narvaez told AFP from their shared home neighborhood, south of Manila.</p><p>&quot;I told him that I don&#x27;t pray that he becomes a pope,&quot; said the 83-year-old, who once tutored a young Tagle for a spelling bee. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/30/tagle-the-asian-francis-is-papal-contender-1048">Tagle, the &#x27;Asian Francis&#x27;, is papal contender</a></div><p>That view is an outlier in Imus, a densely populated city where both grew up and the 67-year-old Tagle began his career.</p><p>When AFP visited recently, a small museum dedicated to its favorite son was closed and family members declined interviews -- perhaps in deference to calls by local bishops to avoid &quot;campaigning&quot; for his papal candidacy.</p><p>Still, British bookmaker William Hill has Tagle a 3-1 chance to win, second behind 9-4 Italian favorite <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/30/pietro-parolin-career-diplomat-leading-race-to-be-pope-1043">Cardinal Pietro Parolin.</a></p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/5/5/list-potential-successors-to-pope-francis-1417">LIST: Potential successors to Pope Francis</a></div><p>It is Tagle&#x27;s work with the poor that largely defined his nearly two decades in his hometown diocese -- first as a priest, then later bishop -- and why many former parishioners openly root for his papacy.</p><p>&quot;He is not a saint, but his tears fall easily for the poor,&quot; said Maria Minda Ortiz, who sells candles in the courtyard of the Imus cathedral.</p><p>The 64-year-old credits Tagle with helping her violent tricycle driver husband reform and embrace Christianity before his death.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re praying for it to happen,&quot; said Corazon Reno, 72, another courtyard vendor.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/5/5/all-133-cardinals-voting-in-conclave-are-now-in-rome-vatican-2005">All 133 cardinals voting in conclave are now in Rome: Vatican</a></div><p>Anna Fernandez, a candle vendor whose left leg is atrophied by polio, has also been watching the news from Rome with building anticipation.</p><p>She was just eight years old when Tagle, then a priest, washed and kissed her feet during Holy Week in 1995, a re-enactment of Christ&#x27;s washing of his disciples&#x27; feet before the Last Supper.</p><p>&quot;I offered my right leg since it was the normal one. But he told me, &#x27;Anna, give me the left one, the one with a defect&#x27;,&quot; she recalled.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>COMFORTABLE BEGINNINGS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>A sprawling 3-story family home near the cathedral suggests a comfortable upbringing for Tagle, one that allowed him to attend Manila&#x27;s prestigious St. Andrew&#x27;s School.</p><p>A plaque to a relative who battled Spanish colonial forces more than 100 years ago testifies to the family&#x27;s lineage as local royalty of a sort.</p><p>Widely touted as a progressive and reformer, Tagle notably spoke out against former president Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s deadly drug war while archbishop of Manila, a post he held from 2011 to 2019.</p><p>An eager adopter of social media, the man nicknamed &quot;Chito&quot; also maintains an official Facebook page that is updated daily with messages for his nearly 640,000 followers.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/5/filipino-schoolmate-of-brilliant-cardinal-tagle-recounts-youth-with-the-papal-candidate-1006">Filipino schoolmate of &#x27;brilliant&#x27; Cardinal Tagle recounts youth with the papal candidate</a></div><p>But, like Pope Francis who died last month, Tagle has hewed closely to the Church&#x27;s traditional teachings on issues such as abortion and divorce.</p><p>And while he called out fellow bishops at a 2019 Vatican summit on sex abuse, a watchdog group last week named him as one of two cardinals they said could not be counted on to protect children.</p><p>The Philippines remains in the &quot;dark ages&quot; on the subject, said the director of BishopAccountability.org, noting just one victim in the country had ever come forward publicly.</p><p>The country&#x27;s governing body of bishops would issue a statement a day later <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2025/5/4/philippine-bishops-defend-papal-frontrunner-tagle-over-clerical-sex-abuse-1418">defending Tagle&#x27;s track record.</a></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;OUR GLORY AS FILIPINOS&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Another Imus resident, lay minister Francisco Abella Jr. told AFP he is tempering his expectations for Tagle&#x27;s chances to become the next pope.</p><p>&quot;The cardinal told us he is not expecting it,&quot; he said of a conversation Tagle had with parish workers earlier this year.</p><p>&quot;If he becomes the chosen one, it would be to our glory as Filipinos, but there are many contenders,&quot; Abella said.</p><p>Win or lose, Sister Narvaez said she believes Tagle will take it in stride -- just as he did at the spelling bee years ago.</p><p>&quot;For two weeks, we prepared. He practically memorised the entire Webster&#x27;s dictionary,&quot; Narvaez recalled.</p><p>&quot;We lost by one word -- chartreuse.&quot;</p><p>His reaction was typical of a man she insists remains &quot;one of the guys&quot; when visiting Imus.</p><p>&quot;He wasn&#x27;t embittered by the experience. He did his best and that&#x27;s all that counted.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS: </strong></div><div><iframe width="1250" height="703" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ys7XUYR1XDw" title="Profile of Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle ahead of Conclave | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="1250" height="703" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cWKiFRGZDFY" title="Cardinal Tagle picked to assist preparations for conclave | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle may be one of the favorites to be named the next pope, but a Catholic Sister who has known him for half a century says she will never pray for it to happen.</p>

Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle may be one of the favorites to be named the next pope, but a Catholic Sister who has known him for half a century says she will never pray for it to happen.

Prayers, pride in Philippine papal contender Tagle's hometown

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Prayers, pride in Philippine papal contender Tagle's hometown

Agence France-Presse,

Cecil Morella

Published May 06, 2025 11:32 AM PHT

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