Vidal celebrates 78th birthday today

Cebu’s well-loved archbishop, Ricardo J. Vidal, celebrates his 78th birthday today, joyful and in high spirit as he adds one more year to serve the Lord.

Having gone through a lot of challenges, with the latest in his health, the prelate still does his best for the Cebuanos. During the recent Sinulog Pontifical Mass, he has expressed firm desire to continue serving Cebu until the Vatican tells him to retire.

The celebration will start at 4 a.m. with the singing of a birthday mañanita for the cardinal. At 11 a.m., Vidal will celebrate a Holy Mass at the Pedro Calungsod shrine inside the Archbishop’s Palace and at 5 p.m., he will celebrate another Mass at the Archbishop’s Palace ground.

In his previous birthdays, the prelate had accepted visitors only up to 12 p.m.

Vidal was born on February 6, 1931 in Mogpog, Marinduque. He earned his degree in Theology from the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City and was ordained as priest on March 17, 1956.

He had held various positions as a parish priest and professor in seminaries in Quezon province and Lucena City until he was ordained Bishop in 1971 and was appointed Archbishop of Lipa, Batangas two years after.

Vidal was first assigned in Cebu as Coadjutor Archbishop in 1981 and in 1982, and was appointed Archbishop of Cebu after the death of Archbishop Julio Cardinal Rosales. He was made Cardinal by Pope John Paul II on May 25, 1985.

From 1986 to 1988, he served as president of the CBCP and then headed the CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Clergy in 1989. From 1985 to 1994, he chaired the standing committee of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

He was also named an adopted son of Cebu City through a resolution by the late Cebu City Mayor Ramon Duterte in 1985.

When Vidal celebrated his 75th birthday on 2006, he tendered his resignation as a member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

But until Pope Benedict XVI accepts his resignation, which has not happened yet, Vidal will remain in his position as the archbishop of Cebu.

He has been honored and recognized many times for his dedication to the Filipinos. In 1998, the Cultural Center of the Philippines presented him with the Outstanding Filipino Award. He was also awarded with the Rizal Peace Prize by the University of Southern Philippines in 2002.

Stories about him have declared Vidal as one of the most influential persons in Cebu. In his 28 years in Cebu, Vidal has been responsible for the success and growth of the church in spreading the gospel and helping the poor and the sick.

He has always been known as peacemaker when he helps mediate and resolve conflicts among groups of individuals. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/WAB(THE FREEMAN)