IT happens even to cardinals.
At the Carreta cemetery, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal yesterday visited the grave of his sister for all All Souls’ Day.
He discovered that the tombstone was gone.
Looting is a fairly common occurrence in Carreta, one of Cebu city’s biggest public cemeteries which is owned by the Cebu Archdiocese.
“I’m happy to visit them. But when I looked for my sister’s tombstone, it was gone,” Vidal said.
Last year, the metal fence around the grave of his father, sister and aunt was also stolen.
After Vidal reported the incident, the cemetery administration promised to replace the stolen metal bars.
The missing marble plate has been gone since last month, said Jess Desuyo, assistant cemetery administrator.
Many family members complained about stolen items from the graves of their loved ones—tombstones, silver-plated letterings, and metal bars—which are items with resale value.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. That always happens here,” Desuyo said.
He said their three security guards couldn’t handle the numerous looters who frequent the cemetery.
He said engravings on the stolen tombstones could be erased and the marble slabs resold.
Vidal’s father, Fructuoso Sebastian Vidal Sr., died in 1994. The remains of his father lie under a big tree inside the cemetery.
The graves of his aunt and sister lie beside his father’s grave.
In an interview, Vidal said he wanted to transfer the remains of his loved ones to his hometown in Marinduque province in Luzon.
Two nuns accompanied the 80-year-old cardinal during his annual visit at 9 a.m. yesterday.
Vidal offered prayers and blessed the graves with holy water.
He also blessed the graves of other priests nearby. Their bones should be brought to the mausoleum in Cathedral, he said, but it was not yet taken care of yet.
When asked about his health condition, Vidal said he suffered mild heart congestion last month and was confined for a week in a private hospital in Cebu City.
He was discharged two weeks ago and stayed at home to rest and undergo “continuous therapy.”
Vidal also urged the public to remember the souls of their dead loved ones.
“The souls of the dead will pass to connect us according to what we believe. . .I believe in the Lord, the gospel, the communion of saints. There is communication among those in earth, in heaven and also in purgatory.” Vidal said. With Correspondent Rhea Ruth V. Rosell