The Vatican announced on Sunday, Oct. 6 that Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Bishop Pablo Virgilio David will be elevated to the rank of cardinal. 

David, who serves as bishop of the Diocese of Caloocan, is among 21 new “princes” of the Church appointed by Pope Francis. 

The prelates will receive their red hats at a Vatican ceremony, known as a consistory, on Dec. 8, coinciding with the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception.

Born in Betis, Pampanga, CBCP said David was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983.

In 2006, he became the auxiliary bishop of San Fernando, serving in that capacity until his transfer to the Diocese of Caloocan in 2015.

With 41 years of priesthood, including 18 years as a bishop, David is a prominent biblical scholar, holding a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

Now 65 years old, he will join active Filipino cardinals, including Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who serves in the Vatican.

The other living cardinals from the Philippines, Gaudencio Rosales, archbishop emeritus of Manila, and Orlando Quevedo, archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, are both over 80 years old and thus ineligible to vote in papal elections.