Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal

Archbishop of Cebu

HIS Eminence, Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu, has graciously accepted the request of the PRAYER WARRIORS OF THE HOLY SOULS (PWHS) to be its Cardinal-Protector.

The Catholic Encyclopedia traces the origin of a Cardinal-Protector to the 13th century, when it was a practice in Rome to confer upon some princes of the Church, special concerns of a religious order, institute, confraternity, church, college, city, nation, or the like.

A Cardinal-Protector then was its representative or defender, especially when it was unfairly accused of wrong-doing, and had to seek the intervention of the pope when its rights were trampled upon or when it felt threatened by external forces.

In the context of present day situation, a Cardinal-Protector may well be more of a "Guardian Angel" that will always be there, "to light and guard, to rule and guide". This is such a wonderful piece of news for the 140,000 or so members of the PWHS in 62 countries.

In a courtesy call made by ChitalG. Monfort, Executive Director of the PWHS, His Eminence manifested his keen interest in the apostolate by saying that he regularly reads the FORE AND AFT as he receives copies of it. He even referred to the "Mist of Mercy" as contained in the article on Anne, the lay apostle, as featured in the previous issue of the FORE AND AFT (Vol XII-no. 40 April-June, 2009). He is an avowed devotee of the holy souls, attesting to their strong intercessory virtues, that go well beyond waking up those who would ask them to.

His Eminence was appointed Archbishop of Lipa by Pope Paul VI in 1973. In 1981, Pope John Paul appointed him Archbishop of Cebu in 1982. In 2005, he was the only Filipino cardinal to have joined the papal conclave that eventually elected Pope Benedict XVI.

He has also acceded to the request to be the mass presider on the Nov 2 Mass in Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. This will be beamed on nationwide TV by the National Broadcasting Network on Nov. 2.

The homily will be featured by Radio Veritas. His Eminence, whose talks are well appreciated by the faithful, will surely be expected to give a beautiful homily on that day, his first active involvement in the PWHS as its Cardinal-Protector.

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