Dec 12, 5:08 p.m. – THE ARCHDIOCESE of Manila welcomed today its new “shepherd” with the installation of Luis Antonio Tagle, D.D. as its 32nd archbishop.
The former bishop of Imus, Cavite assumed the post this morning at the Manila Cathedral, formally replacing 79-year-old Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, D.D.
“[My message to the Filipinos] is that we will pray, we will discern, we will learn together, and, inspired by the Lord, we will respond … only by the Lord,” the new archbishop told reporters in an ambush interview.
The 54-year-old prelate, whose episcopal motto is “Dominus Est” (It is the Lord), said the first order as new Manila archbishop was “to study.”
In his homily, Tagle said the Pope’s call for a “New Evangelization” required seeing through “new eyes,” wherein the unborn is not seen as a burden, women are not objects, workers are not commodities, and creation is not manipulated.
Tagle said he wanted to continue the legacy of the 31 bishops before him. “Now I face my new mission in the Archdiocese of Manila—which is rich in tradition, culture, history, and religiosity,” he said.
The installation rites fell within Advent and on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Tagle incorporated these elements in his homily. Tagle said the celebration was not about him, as the focus should be on Jesus Christ—“the true shepherd of the Church.”
“It is rather by being a humble disciple, content by Jesus’ love, that I will be able to see Advent,” he said.
He also appealed to members of the Church to extend their love to the poor, noting that the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared nearly 500 years ago in Mexico for the poor. “To you my dear Mother (Mary), I entrust the Church and Manila … bring Jesus to us,” he said.
Tagle, a theologian with international credentials, said the Church won’t stop proclaiming the word of God. “Even if it’s the inconvenient truth … the Lord comes. He speaks,” he said.
The ceremonies were attended by government officials like Chief Justice Renato Corona, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, and Manila Rep. Naida Angping; and Church officials like Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Giuseppe Pinto, Federation of Asian Bishops assistant secretary general Fr. Raymond O’Toole, SFM, and Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Anthony Soter Fernandez.
Members of the diplomatic corps and church groups were also present.
Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., Rector of UST, and Fr. Franklin Beltran, O.P, parish priest of Santisimo Rosario Parish, also attended the event to welcome the new archbishop. Rommel Marvin C. Rio
