Do not be afraid.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said this to Cardinal Jose Advincula who was formally installed as the 33rd Archbishop of Manila on Thursday, June 24.

"Do not be afraid. We are ready, as always, to cooperate and collaborate with our shepherds. You are not in this alone," he said at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros where Advincula was installed.

"As Pope Francis is stressing the synodal characteristic of the church, so we walk together in building the kingdom of the fullness of life in the Archdiocese," added Pabillo.

The prelate then thanked Advincula for accepting his new role.

"We are happy to have you with us. We recognize that you are a gift of the Church through our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to our local church. We have been praying for at shepherd for the past 15 trying months. At last, our prayers have been answered and you are now with us," said Pabillo.

"We know that you will have to adjust to the situation of leading a big urban archdiocese. We admire your generosity in accepting this service to the Church," he added.

Pabillo said it was unfortunate that they cannot come near their new archbishop to pay homage due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

"I hope this simple speech that I give in the name of the faithful of the archdiocese expresses our joy, our ready disposition, and our openness to journey with you in the spirit of synodality in the coming years," he said.

Advincula in turn thanked Pabillo who served as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.

"Bishop Broderick Pabillo has been the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese of Manila this past 16 months and these were not normal or ordinary months but very trying moments especially in Metro Manila because of COVID-19. But Bishop Pabillo ...was able to manage well the archdiocese until today when it is being transferred to my management. So I thank very much Bishop Pabillo for work well done," he said.