FOR THE first time in Church history, a graduate of the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST) will have a hand in selecting the next pontiff who will lead the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.
Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, who obtained his bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from UST in 1975, is set to participate in the papal conclave scheduled to begin on May 7 to select Pope Francis’s successor.
Because Advincula, 73, is eligible to vote in the secret ballot, he is technically also a potential successor of St. Peter, who will be chosen this year from the ranks of 135 cardinals aged under 80.
While the late Cardinal Zeferino González, O.P. was the first Thomasian to be elevated to the cardinalate, no conclave took place during his tenure. His cardinalate lasted from 1884-1894, within the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903).
Meanwhile, the first Filipino Thomasian cardinal, Jose Tomas Sanchez, was over the age limit and thus ineligible to vote in the 2005 conclave that elected Joseph Ratzinger to be the next pope. The German prelate took the name Benedict XVI.
Advincula was created cardinal by Pope Francis in a November 2020 consistory. Less than a year later, the Thomasian prelate was designated metropolitan archbishop of Manila, plucked from the Archdiocese of Capiz in Roxas, where he served as archbishop for almost a decade.
A part of the four-person Filipino delegation during the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican, Advincula is considered a strong proponent of Pope Francis’s vision of a more synodal and “listening” Church.
The Synod on Synodality gathered more than 400 delegates, who approved a 45-page final report calling for the increased participation of laypeople in decision-making. The second and final assembly of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops concluded on Oct. 27 last year.
Advincula, although perceived as more reserved than his Filipino cardinal peers, emphasizes “dialogue, inclusivity, and listening to diverse voices within the Church community,” according to the website College of Cardinals Report.
In a letter to Advincula in 2020 shortly after elevating him to the cardinalate, Pope Francis urged the Manila archbishop to embrace humility and serve the poor as he takes on a new role.
“It is my hope that this vocation to which the Lord calls you will make you grow in humility and in the spirit of service,” the pope wrote in a letter, which Advincula read in the “Usapan Tomasino” online forum of the UST Alumni Priests’ Association.
Most Filipino cardinal-electors in conclave history
For the first time in conclave history, three Filipino cardinals will be part of the electors who will be sealed off inside the walls of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to elect the 267th pope.
This reflects the growing presence of Filipino Catholics in the global Church, as the Philippines is home to 85 million faithful, the world’s third largest Catholic population.
Joining Advincula are Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David.
Dubbed the “Asian Francis” due to his similarities with the late pontiff’s pastoral views, Tagle has been consistently included in lists of papabili, or the cardinals the media deem to be the top contenders to be the next bishop of Rome.
The May 7 conclave will be Tagle’s second, having joined the 2013 conclave that elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the next pope. The Argentine prelate took the regnal name Francis.
Tagle was made cardinal by Pope Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2012.
He is expected to be a strong contender in this year’s conclave, being the highest-ranking member of the College of Cardinals after rising to the rank of Cardinal-Bishop of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle in 2020.
Tagle is also in charge of one of the most crucial departments in the Vatican — the Dicastery for Evangelization, tasked with overseeing the missionary work of the Church.
On April 28, two days after the late pope was laid to rest, Tagle was tasked with assisting Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, in overseeing Vatican affairs during the sede vacante period.
Tagle will also help in the conclave preparations alongside two other cardinal assistants, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti and Cardinal Reinhard Marx.
He was the archbishop of Manila in 2015 when Pope Francis first visited the country and UST for an encounter with interreligious leaders and over 24,000 young people at the UST Grandstand.
Also a first-time elector is David, the bishop of Kalookan and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), who was among the 21 cardinals last created by Pope Francis in a December 2024 consistory.
Known as “Ambo,” David was a leading Church voice during the deadly war on drugs of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
An outspoken advocate for social justice and human rights, David condemned the previous administration’s extrajudicial killings, most notably that of 17-year-old Kian de los Santos in 2017 in Kalookan.
While David is not considered a papabile, he is viewed as a cardinal whose advocacy aligns with that of Pope Francis. He led the Filipino delegation at the Synod on Synodality in his capacity as CBCP president.
A total of 135 cardinals are eligible to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church. But the actual number of electors is expected to be 133, as two cardinals have withdrawn due to health reasons.
Non-voting Filipino cardinals are Cardinal Orlando Quevedo and Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales.
Of the 10 Filipino cardinals in history, a total of seven have participated in a conclave.
Cardinal Rufino Santos voted in the 1963 conclave that elected Pope Paul VI. Cardinals Jaime Sin and Julio Rosales took part in both the August and October 1978 conclaves, which elected Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II, respectively. Cardinal Ricardo Vidal voted in 2005.
