Pope Francis formally elevated Archbishop Jose Advincula of Capiz to cardinal during a consistory at the Vatican last Saturday.
Advincula was elevated as cardinal despite being unable to make it to the Vatican because of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the consistory, the Pope read each of the names of the 13 new “princes of the church” and gave those present their red hats and rings.
The new cardinals promised to obey the Pope. Their main task is to offer him advice and eventually elect his successor.
CBCP News said Advincula followed the occasion at his residence in Roxas City via livestream from the St. Peter’s Basilica with a limited congregation.
Fr. Emil Arbatin, the archdiocese’s spokesman, said he watched the consistory while wearing “choir” cassock along with some priests.
At 68, Advincula is eligible to vote in a conclave. He is also one of the only two active Filipino cardinal aside from Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle who is now based in the Vatican.
The Holy See press office had earlier said that Advincula and Cardinal Cornelius Sim of Brunei, who also skipped the “red hat ceremony” for the same reason, will still receive their distinctive insignia on a later date.
According to Vatican News, the physical distance made Saturday’s consistory unusual “but not unprecedented."
It said that 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 COVID-19 restrictions.