Filipino Cardinal Vidal dead at 86

CEBU, Philippines – Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the retired Archbishop of Cebu, died on  18  October 2017 at the age of 86. He had been hospitalised last week after he collapsed, suffering from pneumonia.

Ordained in 1956 as a priest of the Lucena diocese, he became coadjutor bishop of Malolos in 1971, then Archbishop of Lipa in 1973. He became Archbishop of Cebu in 1982, serving at that post until his retirement in 2010 at the age of 79. He was raised to the College of Cardinals by St John Paul II in 1985.

With the death of Cardinal Vidal there are now 219 living members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 120 are under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote in a papal election.

In a telegram to Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu, Pope Francis expressed his condolences and “profound gratitude for the late cardinal’s untiring and devoted service to the church.”

The pope also praised “his constant advocacy of dialogue and peace for all the people in the Philippines” and commended the cardinal’s soul “to the infinite love and mercy of our heavenly father.” – CWN/catholic herald