CARDINAL Luis Antonio Tagle expressed his gratitude to the Archdiocese of Manila as he left the country for his new mission at the Vatican.
“It was an honor and blessing to have known you and collaborated with you. [L]et us pray for docility to the Holy Spirit as we continue our life as an archdiocese and await the next archbishop,” he said in his farewell message.
On Dec. 8, Pope Francis appointed Tagle prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, one of the leading departments in the Roman Curia.
“Work starts for me this week at the Congregation… you can count on my prayers. [P]lease pray for me and my mission as well,” Tagle said.
Tagle’s coat of arms, “Dominus Est” (It is the Lord), was unveiled on the marble at the central nave of the Manila Cathedral during his last Mass on Sunday.
Fr. Reginald Malicdem said it was a tradition in the cathedral when an archbishop ends his term.
“This is a source of pride and joy for us… this signifies that you will be remembered in all the prayers and Masses [a]nd an assurance that you always have a home in this Cathedral,” Malicdem said.
Tagle was the 32nd archbishop of Manila.
On Feb. 10, Pope Francis appointed Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo as the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.
Pabillo will be in-charge of the archdiocese until the next archbishop is appointed.
An apostolic administrator acts as a caretaker of the diocese or an archdiocese during “sede vacante,” the period when there is no ruling bishop, until the newly chosen bishop takes possession of the diocese.
