BLESS YOU: In this July 17, 2016 file photo, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal (right) meets with President Duterte at Malacañang. Afterwards, Cardinal Vidal said his meeting with Mr. Duterte helped establish good rapport between the President and the Catholic Church. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS DIVISION
CEBU CITY — Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal remains at a hospital in Manila after he suffered a fit of vomiting following his visit at a religious congregation in Tayabas, Quezon province, two weeks ago.
Fr. Joseph de Aquino, Vidal’s secretary, said the cardinal’s condition might have been triggered by pneumonia, which had landed Vidal in the hospital several times since 2014.
“He’s doing well now. There’s nothing to worry. Perhaps, he will be discharged by Sunday or in an earlier date,” De Aquino said.
“He has to be brought to the hospital as a precautionary measure. We just could not be complacent because we are dealing with pneumonia here,” he added.
Vidal, 86, and the country’s most senior cardinal, attended the annual gathering of nuns at the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese (MCST) in Tayabas, Quezon, two weeks ago.
The congregation was founded by the late Bishop Alfredo Maria Aranda Obviar whose cause for sainthood has been processed by the Catholic Church.
When Obviar died in 1978, Cardinal Vidal, whom he ordained to the priesthood, looked after the MCST. Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and some priests from the Archdiocese of Cebu visited Vidal at the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center in Sta. Cruz, Manila on Wednesday morning.
Fr. Zenon Guanzon, the secretary of Archbishop Palma, said Vidal has been recuperating well.
“He just has to rest. He’s actually okay now,” Guanzon said in a phone interview.
Fr. Japheth Geonzon, the archdiocesan liturgical master of ceremonies, posted a photo on Facebook to show that the well-loved cardinal is fine.
“He is very well and okay now. Praise the Lord,” he said in a text message.
Vidal is accompanied at the hospital room by a deacon of the Society of the Angel of Peace and a caregiver.
Even as Vidal’s medical condition continues to improve, calls to pray for the cardinal’s complete healing continues.
“Let us continue praying for Cardinal Vidal,” Fr. Guanzon said.
Since 2014, Vidal has been going in and out of the hospital due to pneumonia.
Vidal was archbishop of Cebu for 29 years before he retired in 2011.
A native of Mogpog in Marinduque, Vidal chose to spend his retirement years in Cebu where he continues to preside over Masses and attend to special events in the country’s biggest archdiocese.
Since his retirement, he has been staying at the Sto. Niño Village in Banilad, Cebu City.
On Sept. 23, 2013, Vidal was rushed to the hospital after a mild stroke.
In 2004, Vidal underwent a coronary angiogram procedure, an examination of the heart and blood vessels, and had a pacemaker installed to monitor his heartbeat. SFM