The Manila Cathedral welcomed the newly-appointed Archbishop of Manila with a continuous ringing of its bells after the appointment was made public in Rome on Thursday evening.
Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Jose Advincula of Capiz as the 33rd archbishop of the largest archdiocese in the country after more than a year of the seat being vacant.
Its former archbishop, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, was appointed the head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Vatican in December 2019.
Prior to Capiz cardinal’s appointment, the See of Manila was vacant for more than 15 months.
Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo has been serving as its apostolic administrator.
Advincula was appointed by Saint Pope John Paul II as the Bishop of San Carlos in Negros Occidental in 2001.
In 2011, he was transferred to his native Capiz by Pope Benedict XVI, who appointed him as its archbishop.
Advincula became a cardinal last year.
When his new appointment in Manila was made public, the Manila Cathedral shared a live stream of the ringing of its bells that ran for more than 15 minutes.
Catholic Filipinos shared their congratulatory remarks in the comments section of the post.
Christian churches ring their bells for spiritual and practical purposes such as to call the faithful to worship, to highlight a particular stage during a church service or to announce important occurrences in the local community, among others.
