Friday, November 23, 2012

All is set for 'red hat' rites in Vatican

Everything is set for the consistory, which will see the introduction of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle and five others as the newest Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, on Saturday noon (evening in Manila) at the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
 
Based on the briefer provided by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM), Tagle and others are already set to receive their red hats and rings to officially become members of the College of Cardinals.

"Cardinal-designate Tagle would be the seventh Filipino Cardinal in the nearly five-hundred year history of the Catholic faith in the Philippines," noted the RCAM.

The three-cornered hat is the symbol of a cardinal's readiness to lay down his life for the gospel while the ring is the symbol of membership in the College of Cardinals.

As "Princes of the Church," cardinals are those given the rights to elect a Pope.

During the consistory, the new cardinals will also be assigned a "titular church" in Rome, which formally makes them members of the diocesan clergy of Rome.

Tagle was named as one of the new cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI on October 24 during the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization.

The others are American Archbishop James Michael Harvey, Lebanon's Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rahi, India's Beatitude Baselios Cleemis, Nigeria's John Onaiyekan, and Colombia's Ruben Salazar Gomez.

Church-run Radio Veritas is set to broadcast the consistory "live" from Vatican City from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

After the consistory, a thanksgiving lunch is set at the Pontificio Collegio Filippino followed by a "Courtesy Visit" to the new cardinals by Tagle.

The next day, a mass will be held with Pope Benedict XVI inside the St. Peter's Basilica in the morning and a thanksgiving mass of Cardinal Tagle at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in the afternoon.

Lastly, on Monday, Tagle is set to attend a General Audience with the Pontiff scheduled at the Paul VI Audience Hall.