VATICAN/MANILA – Pope Francis has named Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Caloocan a cardinal.

The Pope announced David’s new appointment during his weekly Sunday Angelus, where he leads a prayer in honor of Mary, addresses global issues, and occasionally makes surprise announcements such as this. 

David, 65, will be installed as a cardinal of the Catholic Church by Pope Francis himself along with other new cardinals in December  8 at the Vatican City.

David, who also serves as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is one of the 21 new cardinals who are set to be installed in a consistory scheduled for December 8, 2024. He will become only the tenth Filipino to be elevated to the position.

Cardinals rank second only to the pope in the Church hierarchy and serve as his closest advisers. Their historical power and influence means they are still called the princes of the Church, though Francis has told them not to live like royalty and to be close to the poor.

Born in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga, 65-year-old David is an internationally trained Bible scholar who is known for his defense of human rights in the Philippines, especially when then-president Rodrigo Duterte was waging a war on drugs. His territory, the Diocese of Kalookan, was a hot spot of killings in the Duterte drug war.

Before his assignment as Kalookan bishop, David was auxiliary bishop of San Fernando, Pampanga.

David obtained his doctorate in theology from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, and attended the Jesuit-run San Jose Seminary based in Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City.

The cardinal-elect comes from the prominent David clan in Pampanga, whose members include sociologist Randy David and Randy’s daughter, Kara, a broadcast journalist.