CARDINAL VIDAL, 86
“I have chosen the way of truth.” This was the motto of Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Vidal, who passed away at the age of 86 at 7:26 a.m. on Wednesday. After showing improvement Sunday morning from a two-day coma, Vidal died peacefully at the intensive care unit at Perpetual Succor Hospital, where doctors had been monitoring him the past week.
Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesman of the Cebu archdiocese, said the cause of death was “septic shock” because of massive infection of the blood system.
“His lungs were clear. The doctors tried to revive him but maybe his organs failed,” Tan explained. “It was a sudden death,” Tan told TheManilaTimes.
Mother Mercy Medenilla, superior of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese of Tayabas, Quezon—a congregation very close to the cardinal—said Vidal’s remains were to be taken to the
Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral late Wednesday afternoon.
The cardinal’s remains will be available for public viewing at the Cebu cathedral until Friday, October 20, and will be transferred to San Pedro Calungsod Shrine in Cebu City on Saturday, October 21.
Vidal collapsed on October 11 at the Perpetual Succor Hospital in Cebu City where he was rushed because of fever and shortness of breath. He was in and out of the hospital because of pneumonia since 2014.
On Friday, Vidal woke up from a coma. His attending physician, Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, explained that those in semi- comatose usually open and close their eyes spontaneously but do not reply to voice commands or a grip.
and reacted to pain until his pass- ing. But the infection in his kidneys had spread to the blood.
He was the most senior of the four living Filipino cardinals. The other three are Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo and Manila Archbishop Emeritus Gaudencio Rosales. Vidal retired in 2011 after serving for 29 years as Cebu archbishop.
A Tagalog in Cebu
Born Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal on February 6, 1931, in Mogpog, Marinduque, to Faustino Vidal of Pila, Laguna and Natividad Jamin of Mogpog, the future prince of the Church studied at the Minor Seminary of the Most Holy Rosary (now Our Lady of Mount Carmel Seminary) in Sariaya, Quezon.
He later studied philosophy at the Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in Lipa City and was ordained deacon on September 24, 1955. He became a priest on March 17, 1956, and was appointed spiritual director of his alma mater in Quezon.
He was consecrated bishop by then apostolic nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Carmine Rocco, and was named coadjutor bishop of Malolos, Bulacan in 1971.
Less than two years later, he was appointed archbishop of Lipa by Pope Paul 6th. In 1981, Pope John Paul 2nd appointed him coadjutor archbishop of Cebu. He succeeded Julio Cardinal Rosales on August 24, 1982.
Influential
Vidal was president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) from 1986 to 1987, a tumultuous period during which he condemned the results of the 1986 snap elections that led to the “People Power” revolt and the ouster of the Marcos regime.
During the 1989 coup attempt, President Corazon Aquino asked Cardinal Vidal to convince Gen. Jose Comendador to surrender. His intervention averted what could have been a bloody coup d’etat.
Vidal’s influence in Philippine politics was proven again in 2001 when he stepped forward to ask President Joseph Estrada to leave “People Power.”
In the College of Cardinals, Vidal had the rank of cardinal-priest of Ss. Pietro e Paolo a Via Ostiense. He participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict 16th.
His resignation as archbishop of Cebu was accepted by Benedict on October 15, 2010. He was succeeded by Archbishop Jose Palma on January 13, 2011.
Cebu has given the cardinal the province’s highest award – the Order of Lapu-Lapu. Cebu City and Talisay City made him their “adopted son.” In March 2009, the University of the Visayas gave him the title doctor of humanities honoriscausa.
Archbishop Palma administered ex- treme unction on Vidal on October 11.
The cardinal is survived by his only living sibling, Juanito Vidal and his family.
Generous, ‘devoted servant’
Tan, who was ordained priest by Vidal in 1991, said the cardinal was no longer able to say Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral since April this year.
“He was very generous. He offered himself to anyone who needed help. He was a man of peace. He was quick to mediate. He always tried to make himself neutral in politics,” Tan shared.
Outgoing CBCP president Socrates Villegas said: “Cardinal Vidal cannot die.”
“He who has always shared in the dying and rising of the Lord daily in his priestly life cannot die. He now joins the immortal ones who served the Lord faithfully here on earth. His wisdom and his humility, his love for priests and his devotion to the Virgin Mary must live on in us whom he has left behind,” Villegas said.
Cardinal Quevedo praised Vidal for his “outstanding character.”
“Some of [his virtues were]: Humil approachability; ability to listen even to opposing views; prudence in political issues; courage in presenting and defending the CBCP position leading to the 1986 People Power; charity for those considered as ‘enemies,’” he said in a text message to CBCP News.
In a statement, Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide 3rd said he and his family were deeply saddened by the passing of Vidal.
“We have lost a great and inspiring church leader and faithful and devoted servant of God. He will be missed and will forever remain in the hearts of those whose lives he had touched,” Davide said.