IN celebrating the 60th year of his ordination as a priest, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal urged the priests and other church servants “to continue to be the living sacrifice to bring out the word of God.”
Vidal celebrated a mass at the IEC Pavilion to celebrate his milestone as a servant of God yesterday.
It was attended by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, at least 20 bishops and more than 70 priests.
At 85, the retired cardinal said he was thankful that he can still go to church from time to time.
“You know my brothers and sisters, it is not easy to be 85. Every joint in my body creaks as rusty metal. Every moment feels like bone grinding upon bone. But who am I to complain? With years this long, every day is an extra gift. I thank the Lord, that at 85, he still entrusts me with double ministry, the ministry of prayer and sacrifice,” the prelate said.
Even after his retirement, Vidal continues to serve the church through his wealth of experience, expertise and influence.
Even on wheelchair, he still occasionally officiates masses during special days of the church.
Palma earlier described Vidal’s 60 years of priesthood as a gift from the Lord. He said it’s not always that a priest can reach that length of years.
Vidal served around three decades as archbishop of Cebu since 1982.
Although 75 was supposed to be the mandatory retirement age, Vidal waited for more than four years for the Vatican to approve his request to retire.
“As I thank all of you, my dear cardinal, archbishops, bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful, may I also gently remind you that the ministry of prayer and sacrifice is not reserved only for the old. It is the ministry to which all of us are called, young and old, healthy or ill. Priests are called in a special way to his double ministry, for they are the means by which God can pasture the sheep by Himself,” Vidal said in his homily.
Vidal, a native of Marinduque Province, was born on Feb. 6, 1931.
He studied theology at the San Carlos Seminary in Makati, and was ordained as a deacon in 1955.
A year after, Vidal officially joined the priesthood.
Aside from the mass and lunch with his family, a concert, “Gaano ka namin Kamahal,” was also held last Wednesday night to celebrate Cardinal Vidal’s 60 years of priesthood.