“A day without prayer is a day without blessing and a life without prayer is a life without power” – Edwin Harvey
On Saturday, Pope Francis formally elevated Pablo Virgilio David to a cardinal to the Catholic Church. David was inducted by the Pope at the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica. David is the tenth Filipino cardinal and serves as the Bishop of Kalookan, joining the current Filipino cardinals, Jose Advincula of Manila and Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelizations.
During the ceremony, David was given a cardinal ring, a tube containing his new status as cardinal, and a red biretta. He will also be assigned to a titular church in Rome. In his homily, the Pope reminded his 21 new cardinals to not be tired of walking in the path of Jesus and to do their mission as “builders of communion and unity” instead of falling prey to competition.
“Let us not forget that being tired ruins your heart. Those who are tired are first to be corrupted. To walk in the path of Jesus means, in the end, to be builders of communion and unity,” He said. “The Lord is looking at you, you who come from different backgrounds and cultures and represent the Catholicity of the Church. He is calling you to be witnesses of the fraternity, to be artisans of communion, builders of unity, and this is your mission,” He added.
The cardinals came from a wide array of countries and the list contains 20 who are under the age of 80 and therefore able to vote in the conclave to elect a new pope after Francis’s death or resignation. By the start of next year, there will be 140 cardinal electors, almost 80% of them chosen by Francis. This increases the possibility that the next pope will share his vision of a more progressive, inclusive church.
