THE remains of the late Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal will be transferred to the St. Pedro Calungsod Shrine today.
The move coincides with the fifth anniversary of the canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod.
Margie Matheu of the Archdiocesan Parish Pastoral Board told reporters that a motorcade carrying Vidal’s body will leave the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral at 7 a.m.
From the cathedral, the motorcade will head to the shrine on D. Jakosalem St. where Vidal’s remains will stay until 7 p.m.
While there, a series of masses will be held in his honor, including a mass that will be attended by more than 1,000 members of the Archdiocesan Commission on Youth (COY) and youth organizations from different parishes in Cebu at 3 p.m.
Frankel Margallo, COY youth coordinator, told SunStar Cebu that the youth sector wants to pay homage to Vidal, who was instrumental in institutionalizing church programs aim towards them.
“The cardinal always had a special place for the youth in his heart,” Margallo said.
The 3 p.m. mass will be presided by Fr. Andrei Vintanilla, current secretary to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and COY assistant chairman.
Margallo said that aside from a mass, the youth will offer a necrological service, song presentations and dedications to the late archbishop.
He said they were supposed to organize a “Grand Barkadahay Ni Pedro” to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Visayan martyr’s canonization. But they shelved it following Vidal’s death last Wednesday.
Margallo urged young people from all over to Cebu to gather at the shrine to pay their last respects to Vidal.
“This is our last chance to give honor to the late archbishop who has been a friend of the youth,” Margallo added.
As Cebu archbishop, Vidal instituted the first Local World Youth Day in Cebu in 1985. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Archdiocesan Youthlinks Training and Assessment Center Inc. (Youthlinks), which provided opportunities to out-of-school youths.
Once Vidal’s remains are at the shrine, masses will be held every hour until 7 p.m., said Fr. Allan Delima, rector of the St. Pedro Calungsod Shrine.
After 7 p.m., Vidal’s remains will be returned to the cathedral.