President Rodrigo Duterte said he will declare October 26, 2017 National Day of Mourning for Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
The cardinal, who died on October 18, will be buried on October 26 at the Mausoleum of the Bishops located at the back of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
The President visited the wake of Vidal before midnight Sunday. He flew to Cebu after gracing the Masskara festival in Bacolod City.
In his speech, Duterte said he joins Cebuanos in mourning the passing of Vidal, archbishop of Cebu for 29 years. He recalled that Vidal visited him in Malacañang in July last year.
At the wake, Duterte kissed Vidal’s coffin. He chatted with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and Vidal’s brother Juanito.
Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesman of the Cebu Archdiocese, said they are not aware of the details of the holiday that will soon be declared.
“We will wait for the document, if it means “no school, no work” or it’s just an honorary holiday. We don’t really know,” Tan said.
Tan said the Cathedral will be closed on Wednesday to give for preparations for Vidal’s funeral.
The last public viewing will be on Tuesday.
“We have no figures as to the number of visitors who will attend the funeral procession. One thing for sure is we already decided to close the Cathedral on Wednesday so that we can have a thorough preparation, from physical arrangement in the Cathedral up to the grave of Vidal which is just at the back of the Cathedral,” Tan said.
He added that 24 bishops will be present, including Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president Socrates Villegas.
with RHEA RUTH ROSELLRENAN ALANGILAN