Pope Francis has formally elevated Archbishop Jose Advincula of Capiz to the rank of cardinal in an unusual consistory at the Vatican on Saturday, November 28.
Archbishop Advincula was created a cardinal even as he failed to make it to the Vatican consistory due to restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cardinal Cornelius Sim of Brunei also skipped the “red hat ceremony” for the same reason.
Archbishop Advincula followed the event in his residence in Roxas City, in the central Philippines, via a livestream feed from the St. Peter’s Basilica.
Wearing a “choir” cassock, the new cardinal watched the consistory with some priests from his archdiocese.
Cardinal Advincula said he still have “apprehensions” on his new post because of the tasks attached to it.
In the Vatican, Pope Francis read the names of the 13 new “princes of the church” and gave those present their red hats and rings.
The new cardinals, whose main task is to offer the pope advice and eventually elect his successor, then promised to obey the pontiff.
At 68, Cardinal Advincula is eligible to vote in a conclave. He is also one of only two active Filipino cardinals aside from Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle who is now based in the Vatican.
The Holy See press office earlier said that Archbishops Advincula and Sim would receive their distinctive insignia on a later date.
The press office said a representative of the pope would present them with the red hat, cardinal’s ring and title connected with a Roman parish “at a time to be decided later.”
According to Vatican News, the physical distance made Saturday’s consistory unusual “but not unprecedented.”
In February 2014, a cardinal-designate got a special dispensation to skip the in-person ceremony due to age and ill-health.
The Dean of Cardinals then bestowed the biretta and cardinal’s ring upon Cardinal Loris Francesco a month later.
The new cardinals did not also follow the long-standing tradition of receiving well-wishers after the ceremony because of pandemic restrictions.
