His Eminence, Cardinal Luis AntonioTagle, Archbishop of Manila, will be visiting Australia from 1 August to 5 August 2015.
Cardinal Tagle’s five-day visit will include celebration of masses at different locations and meetings with the Catholic faithful of the Filipino community in Sydney and Melbourne. His last visit was in 2008 for World Youth Day.
He is dubbed as the “smiling Cardinal” having been able to connect to the masses through social media. He has a large following on facebook and homilies posted on you tube. He is currently the Archbishop of Manila and Cardinal-Priest of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle in Rome. At 56, he is the fourth-youngest cardinal in the world. He was ordained priest in Imus, Cavite, Philippines and after 19 years was appointed and ordained Bishop of the same diocese. In 2011, he was appointed and installed Archbishop of Manila and elevated to Cardinal in 2012.
He was recently appointed by Pope Francis as one of three Presidents-Delegates of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops that will discuss the “Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of the New Evangelisation”. The Synod of Bishops will take place at the Vatican on Oct 5-19 this year.
Those who wish to catch a glimpse of the Cardinal, or want to hear him speak are welcome at any of the locations below:
SYDNEY
August 1, Friday – St Mary’s Cathedral
- 5:00 pm – Evening Prayer (Vespers)
- 5:30 pm – Celebration of The Holy Eucharist
- 7:30 pm – Talk: Catholic Church in Asia: Joys and Hopes, Griefs and Anxieties
August 2, Saturday – Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Kingsgrove
- 3:30 pm – Talk on “Christian Families are called to Holiness” in the parish church
- 5:00 pm – Celebration of The Holy Eucharist
- 6:15 pm – Fellowship at Clune Centre next to the parish church after mass
- Please note that Parking at Kingsgrove is limited. People are encouraged to carpool or take public transport. Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church is across Kingsgrove train station on Shaw Street.
August 3, Sunday – The Diocese of Parramatta (Sydney)
- 10:00 am – Celebration of the Holy Eucharist
- 11:00 pm – Fellowship
- Marist High School Gym, Parrramatta – 30 Darcy Road, Parramatta
- 5:00 pm – Departs for Melbourne
MELBOURNE
August 4, Monday – The Australian Catholic University
- 5:30 pm – Cardinal Tagle will give a lecture on Joy of the Gospel – Relevance in Asia; then,
- he will be conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Theology at ACU
August 5, Tuesday – Diocese of Melbourne
- 6:00 pm – Cardinal Tagle will preside the Lectio Divina at St Patrick’s Cathedral
- 7:00 pm – Celebration of The Holy Eucharist
Cardinal Tagle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Divinity from Ateneo in 1977 and later, a Master of Arts in Theology at Loyola School of Theology. He then gained his Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America in 1991, Summa cum Laude.
More than just a theologian; he is also an eloquent speaker and has been invited to speak at various conferences, namely: the four-day conference called Symposium for Healing and Renewal addressing 100 dioceses and 30 religious institutes; he delivered a Catechetical speech at the 50th International Congress in Dublin, Ireland where he noted the importance of the Eucharist in relation to the Virgin Mary; he delivered a public speech against the Reproductive Health Bill in Manila. Undoubtedly, as one of the Presidents-Delegates, he will be delivering important messages in the up-coming Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in Rome in October this year.
Cardinal Tagle is endeared by people because of his simple ways of living, his accessibility, ability to mingle with the public and his strong beliefs on the sanctity of human life and natural law. His very warm and friendly smile is very contagious and expresses positive emotions which can uplift the soul of people he meets.
Cardinal Tagle believes that “holiness is still real, holiness is a gift of God to us all, ordinary men and women. We are ordinary baptized people but all of us have been given the grace of holiness and we are called to live in holiness”.
