Sinulog Festival

CEBU CITY, Philippines - Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal ended speculations on his state of health on Sunday.

He told the faithful that he was well and able to perform his duties as administrator of the Cebu Archdiocese.

“Thanks a lot for your prayers to Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu, through Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu. My doctors say my health is not worsening at all,” Vidal said in his Homily during the Pontifical Mass for the Feast Day of the Holy Infant Jesus at the Pilgrim Center of the Basilica del Sto. Niño.

“They only say that at 77 going 78. I am definitely aging. Thank you for your ‘Pit Señor kang Cardinal Vidal kini’,” he said.

The prelate said he will continue performing his duties in the archdiocese until he receives a notice of retirement from Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, Italy.

“I assure you that unless and until Señor Sto. Niño shall say through Pope Benedict XVI ‘Hanggang dito ka na lamang. Maraming Salamat po’ I shall try always and in everywhere to be with you, a fellow Cebuano, and to be for you the Archbishop of Cebu hopefully for some time more,” Vidal said.

The mass goers clapped three times during his homily.

Vidal submitted the mandatory resignation of bishops who reached the age limit of 75 in 2005. But his application was not accepted by the Pontiff and had been asked to stay on and continue his work as Archbishop of Cebu.

He was appointed as Archbishop of Cebu on Aug. 24, 1982 succeeding the late Julio Cardinal Rosales and was elevated to Cardinal on May 25, 1985.

Vidal, who spoke in a weak voice as he celebrated Mass, was wearing a neck brace underneath his vestments and was seated most of the time.

He started wearing a neck brace to manage his pain on the third day of Misa de Gallo on December 18, 2008.

He was not able to fetch the Sto. Niño from the altar inside the Basilica Mimore del Sto. Niño on Saturday and take this to the waiting carosa for the traditional foot procession.

Vidal earlier said he deputized Auxiliary Bishop Julito Cortes to be his proxy because he wanted to rest so he could celebrate Mass on Sunday.

“In the meantime, as we move on towards the 75th year of Cebu as an archdiocese starting on April 28, 2009. Let us celebrate this year's Fiesta Señor with simplicity as demanded with hard times yet with solemnity as required by our Catholic faith, the faith of our forefathers,” Vidal said. He said he has been a witness in the Cebuanos' growth in faith.

After the Mass, Vidal told reporters he would leave for Manila on Monday to attend the five-day plenary conference of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

Cardinal Vidal said his physicians have not restricted his diet.

The physicians of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, however, would be closely monitoring his health even if his condition has improved, said Dr. Rene Bullecer, one of the archbishop’s personal physicians.

“He (Vidal) has a dozen of medicines, almost half of these is for his heart,” he added.

Vidal has been advised to take his medicines religiously. Upon waking up, he has the insulin injection, heart medicines after breakfast, after lunch and before bedtime.

He has also been prescribed pain relievers to address his neck and back pains.

“Our focus now is not on the heart but the most important are his kidneys,” he added.

Cardinal Vidal is a diabetic, which was discovered in 2000, Bullecer said.

He added the insulin injection was prescribed to control his blood sugar level.

Bullecer said the variety of medications taken by the prelate could result to kidney problems that could result to the slow elimination of drugs from the body.

Bullecer said that Vidal also has osteoarthritis, which he said is the most painful kind of arthritis.

“Aside from the diet, he is also required to undergo physiotherapy at least three times a week,” he said.