As Filipino Catholics mourn the passing of Pope Francis, there’s an unconcealed hope that the next pope would be a Filipino.
It’s not an unfounded hope. For the first time in the long history of the Catholic church in the Philippines, three Filipino cardinals –Luis Antonio Tagle, Jose Advincula, and Pablo Virgilio David – are set to participate in the conclave that will choose the successor of Pope Francis who died April 21,
More than 80 percent of 110 million Filipinos are Catholics. Some of them have fond memories of Pope Francis who made a pastoral and state visit to the Philippines in January 2015 and gave hope and spiritual comfort to the victims of typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan.)
Cardinal David officiated a concelebrated mass at the San Roque Cathedral in Kalookan city April 22 while Cardinal Advincula, archbishop of Manila joined devotees in a mass at the Manila Cathedral.
Photos and video by Bullit Marquez for VERA Files.
