CEBU ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS RICARDO CARDINAL VIDAL (CDN FILE PHOTO)
Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal led a beautiful and momentous life.
He was born on February 6, 1931 in Mogpog, Marinduque.
When he was six, they traveled to Manila for his first holy communion at the first International Eucharistic Celebration (IEC) held in the country in 1937.
He studied at the Most Holy Rosary Seminar in Quezon Now the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Seminary He then studied philosophy at the Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in Lipa City, Batangas, and took theology at the San Carlos in Seminary in Makati City.
He was ordained on March 17, 1956 and became an assistant parish priest in his hometown.
From 1965 to 1971, he. was the rector of our Lady of Mount Carmel Seminary.
Vidal became the Coadjutor Archbishop of Cebu in 1981.
In 1982, he was installed as the Archbishop of Cebu.
Three years later, he was elevated to the College of Cardinals at the Vatican.
Vidal became the president of the Catholics Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 1986.
During one of the darkest times of Philippine history, Cardinal Vidal gave light to Filipinos. He played a vital role during the 1986 People Power Revolution when he led the rest of the Philippine prelates in making a joint declaration against the government and result of the snap election. Vidal called for a “non-violent struggle for justice.”
In the 2001 People Power Revolution, the cardinal stepped forward again and asked then President Joseph Estrada to step down from power
Vidal also wrote President. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a letter to pardon her predecessor, Estrada, who was convicted of plunder in 2007.
At the age of 79, Vidal sent his resignation to the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI accepted the prelate’s decision in October 2010.
However, Vidal suffered a mild stroke in 2013 and was in and out of the hospital due to pneumonia. In 2014.
The cardinal fell into coma on October 11 this year. He woke up two days after.
His condition improved a little but remained critical in the days that followed.
“Now he joins the immortal ones who served the Lord faithfully here on earth.” – CBCP President Lingayan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said on Wednesday, October 18.
The Prince of the Catholic Church died at 86.