Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Jose Advincula of Capiz as the new Archbishop of Manila.

The Vatican announced the appointment today in Rome, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord.

Advincula will succeed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who is now the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Vatican.

The archdiocese has been without a bishop since Tagle left for Rome in February 2020.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines congratulated Advincula on his appointment as the 33rd Archbishop of Manila, reported CBCP News.

“I wish the archbishop-elect God’s abundant blessing in his new mission and offer him our continued prayers and support,” said Archbishop Romulo Valles, CBCP President.

Born on March 30, 1952, in Capiz’s Dumalag town, Advincula was ordained a priest for the archdiocese in 1976.

The 68-year old cardinal was the spiritual director of the St. Pius X Seminary, where he was also professor and dean of education.

He subsequently began his studies in psychology at the De La Salle University of Manila, and in canon law at the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas of Manila and at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas-Angelicum in Rome, obtaining a licentiate in canon law.

Back home, he served in the seminaries of Vigan, Nueva Segovia, and in the regional seminary of Jaro.

In 1995, he was appointed rector of the St. Pius X Seminary of Capiz and became the Defender of the Bond, promoter of justice, and finally judicial vicar of the archdiocese.

Advincula then became parish priest of Saint Thomas of Villanueva in Dao in 1999.

He was appointed bishop of San Carlos in July 2001 and was transferred to Capiz in 2011, after the retirement of Archbishop Onesim Cordoncillo.

In October last year, the pope named Advincula as among the 13 new cardinals. He was elevated at a consistory on November 28, 2020.