Archbishop Jose Palma, time for a red hat  

It isn’t because this writer and Archbishop Jose Palma were born exactly on the same day, the same month and the same year on March 19, 1950, that we firmly believe that the archbishop of the biggest archdiocese in the country deserves to be made a cardinal. It’s because he’s more than qualified, more experienced and has all the characters of a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals. But we cannot fathom the will of God, and it’s only the Pope who has the power to elevate a bishop to become a cardinal.

A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the 1.3-billion strong Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. The most solemn and perhaps the most important function of a cardinal is to elect a new Pope, in a conclave attended only by cardinals. During the period between the death or resignation of an incumbent pope and the election of his successor, the day-to-day governance of the Holy See is vested on the collective leadership of the College of Cardinals, led by the camerlengo. The period of vacancy is called sede vacante and the College of Cardinals would endeavor to make such interregnum as brief as possible.

As of today, there are only four living Filipino Cardinals, and only three are still on active duty: Jose Advincula from Dumadag, Capiz, 70; Orlando Quevedo, 84, from Laoag, Ilocos Sur, currently archbishop of Cotabato, Luis Antonio Tagle, 65, now in Rome as pro-prefect of the Dicastery for the Evangelization since 2022, and Gaudencio Rosales, from Batangas, 90, who used to be archbishop of Manila until his retirement. Cardinals Advincula and Quevedo were made cardinals by Pope Francis, while cardinals Tagle and Rosales were elevated by Pope Benedict XVI. There were five other Filipino cardinals who already died: Cardinal Rufino Santos, from Pampanga, Julio Rosales from Samar, Jaime Sin from Aklan, Ricardo Vidal from Marinduque, and Jose Sanchez from Catanduanes.

Archbishop Jose Palma, OP was born in Dingle, Iloilo, exactly 73 years ago today. He earned his Philosophy degree from San Vicente Ferrer Seminary and his Theology degree from St. Joseph Regional Seminary. He received his licentiate in Sacred Theology in the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas and was ordained priest on August 21, 1976. While he was assistant parish priest of the Jaro Cathedral, he was also teaching in his alma mater. He was made rector of the seminary after completing his advanced studies in Rome. He held various positions in various diocesan commissions. He became parish priest in Barotac Nuevo, on November 28, 1997, he was appointed by Pope John Paul II, now a saint, as Titular Bishop of Vazari Diddi and auxiliary bishop of Cebu. On January 13, 1999, he was made bishop ordinary of the See of Calbayog.

Archbishop Palma was appointed archbishop of Palo, Leyte, by Pope Benedict XVI on March 6, 2006 and transferred to Cebu on October 10, 2010. He was elected vice president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines from December 1, 2009 until July 11, 2011 when he was elected CBCP president. In 2018, he joined the Order of Preachers. Pope Francis named Archbishop Palma as member of the Pontifical Council for Culture on November 11, 2019. The Cebu Archdiocese comprises not just the island of Cebu but also the Diocese of Dumaguete that covers Negros Oriental and Siquijor, the Diocese of Tagbilaran of southwestern Bohol, the Diocese of Talibon of northeastern Bohol, and even the Diocese of Maasin, covering Southern Leyte.

Archbishop Palma is head of no less than 164 parishes, two mission stations, five parochial shrines, one minor basilica and two national shrines. The archdiocese of Cebu began when Magellan arrived here in 1521 but was formally established as a diocese on August 14, 1595. It was made an archdiocese on April 28, 1934.

By the sheer size of the territory assigned to him and by his vast leadership experience, it is the humble opinion of this writer that Archbishop Jose Palma deserves a red hat from the Pope. But only God knows and only the Pope can implement the will of the Lord. We can only hope and pray for that, as we greet him today a truly blessed natal day. It is my honor and pride to have been born with him on the solemnity of the Feast of St. Joseph, the foster father of our lord, Jesus Christ.