CEBU CITY — Former House speaker Jose De Venecia paid his last respects to Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal on Monday afternoon at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral here.
De Venecia, who was accompanied by former Deputy House Speaker Antonio Cuenco at the wake of the late archbishop, said he came to pay homage to one of Cebu’s great sons.
“I come here to honor this great son of the church and of Cebu,” said De Venecia. “Because Cardinal Vidal is one of the greatest public figures the Philippines has produced.”
During the People Power Revolution in 1986, De Venecia said Vidal provided a fighting and powerful spirit of reform that encouraged every Filipino to advance the course of freedom in the country.
“Cardinal Vidal is one of the most respected leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, not only in the Philippines and in Asia, but in the Vatican and the entire global community,” De Venecia added.
The late Cardinal Vidal will be buried on October 26, expected to be declared as a holiday here by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte paid his last respects to Vidal past midnight Monday after gracing the 38th Masskara Festival in Bacolod City on Sunday.
The funeral service will start at 9 a.m. and Vidal will be interred in a very special burial chamber at the back of the Cathedral where all the bishops of Cebu have been laid to rest out of reverence for their office as spiritual leaders in the Diocese.
Vidal served as Cebu’s archbishop for 29 years prior to his retirement in 2011. (PNA)
