3 Filipino cardinals head to Rome for Pope Leo XIV’s first consistory

January 6, 2026 – 1:35 PM

Cardinals attend a consistory to create 21 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Dec. 7, 2024. (Vatican Media)

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Three Filipino cardinals left Manila on Monday for Rome to attend the first consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV, a key assembly of the Catholic Church’s highest-ranking officials.

Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila; Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, bishop of Kalookan; and Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, will join members of the College of Cardinals for the consistory scheduled for January 7 to 8.

“Please include us in your prayers,” David said.

The cardinals are also expected to take part in the closing Mass of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, which the pope will preside over at St. Peter’s Basilica on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a Filipino prelate based in Rome who serves as pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, is also attending the consistory.

Because the consistory concludes on the eve of the Feast of Jesus Nazareno, Advincula will miss this year’s celebrations in Manila, which are expected to draw millions of devotees.

Instead, the archbishop presided over the fifth novena Mass in honor of Jesus Nazareno on Sunday, January 4, at Quiapo Church.

“He will miss us on January 9 but he said he will be monitoring our celebration,” said Quiapo Church rector Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan.

Traditionally, the archbishop of Manila presides over the midnight Mass, or Misa Mayor, at the Quirino Grandstand during the annual feast.

This year, the Mass will be led by Balanga Bishop Rufino Sescon, a former Quiapo Church rector who was appointed to the episcopate in December 2024.

A consistory is a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals. Consistories may be ordinary, which are largely ceremonial and attended by cardinals residing in Rome, or extraordinary.