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Agence France-Presse

Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle may be one of the favourites to be named the next pope, but a Catholic Sister who has known him for half a century says she will never pray for it to happen.
“I’m afraid of the politics in Rome,” Sister Marilena Narvaez said from their shared home neighbourhood, south of Manila.
“I told him that I don’t pray that he becomes a pope,” said the 83-year-old, who once tutored a young Tagle for a spelling bee.
That view is an outlier in Imus, a densely populated city where both grew up and the 67-year-old Tagle began his career.

When reporters visited recently, a small museum dedicated to its favourite son was closed and family members declined interviews – perhaps in deference to calls by local bishops to avoid “campaigning” for his papal candidacy.
Still, British bookmaker William Hill has Tagle a 3-1 chance to win, second behind 9-4 Italian favourite Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
It is Tagle’s work with the poor that largely defined his nearly two decades in his hometown diocese – first as a priest, then later bishop – and why many former parishioners openly root for his papacy.
“He is not a saint, but his tears fall easily for the poor,” said Maria Minda Ortiz, who sells candles in the courtyard of the Imus cathedral.

The 64-year-old credits Tagle with helping her violent tricycle driver husband reform and embrace Christianity before his death.
“We’re praying for it to happen,” said Corazon Reno, 72, another courtyard vendor.
Anna Fernandez, a candle vendor whose left leg is atrophied by polio, has also been watching the news from Rome with building anticipation.
She was just eight years old when Tagle, then a priest, washed and kissed her feet during Holy Week in 1995, a re-enactment of Christ’s washing of his disciples’ feet before the Last Supper.
“I offered my right leg since it was the normal one. But he told me, ‘Anna, give me the left one, the one with a defect’,” she recalled.

A sprawling three-storey family home near the cathedral suggests a comfortable upbringing for Tagle, one that allowed him to attend Manila’s prestigious St Andrew’s School.
A plaque to a relative who battled Spanish colonial forces more than 100 years ago testifies to the family’s lineage as local royalty of a sort.
Widely touted as a progressive and reformer, Tagle notably spoke out against former president Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war while archbishop of Manila, a post he held from 2011 to 2019.


An eager adopter of social media, the man nicknamed “Chito” also maintains an official Facebook page that is updated daily with messages for his nearly 640,000 followers.
If he becomes the chosen one, it would be to our glory as Filipinos
Francisco Abella Jnr, lay minister
But, like Pope Francis who died last month, Tagle has hewed closely to the church’s traditional teachings on issues such as abortion and divorce.
And while he called out fellow bishops at a 2019 Vatican summit on sex abuse, a watchdog group last week named him as one of two cardinals they said could not be counted on to protect children.
The Philippines remained in the “dark ages” on the subject, said the director of BishopAccountability.org, noting just one victim in the country had ever come forward publicly.
The country’s governing body of bishops would issue a statement a day later defending Tagle’s track record.
Another Imus resident, lay minister Francisco Abella Jnr, said he was tempering his expectations for Tagle’s chances to become the next pope.

“The cardinal told us he is not expecting it,” he said of a conversation Tagle had with parish workers earlier this year.
“If he becomes the chosen one, it would be to our glory as Filipinos, but there are many contenders,” Abella said.
Win or lose, Sister Narvaez said she believed Tagle would take it in stride – just as he did at the spelling bee years ago.
“For two weeks, we prepared. He practically memorised the entire Webster’s dictionary,” Narvaez recalled. “We lost by one word – chartreuse.”


His reaction was typical of a man she insists remains “one of the guys” when visiting Imus.
“He wasn’t embittered by the experience. He did his best and that’s all that counted.”


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The Philippines

From Imus to pope? Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s hometown reflects on his journey

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle attends Sunday mass at the  Pontifical Filipino College in Rome, ahead of the election of the new pope, which starts on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Street signage is seen in front of the Imus Cathedral in the Philippine province of Cavite. Photo: AFP

Sister Marilena Narvaez, 83, says she isn’t praying for Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to become pope. Photo: AFP

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle attends Sunday mass at the Pontifical Filipino College in Rome ahead of the election of the new pope, which starts on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

A photo of the late Pope Francis is seen inside the Imus Cathedral in Imus, Cavite province. Photo: AFP

Francisco Abella Jnr shows a photo of himself and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle at the Imus Cathedral. Photo: AFP

Filipinos mourn death of Pope Francis, their ‘Lolo Kiko’: ‘we grieve like orphans’

A Filipino offers a candle in front of a picture of Pope Francis, following the Vatican’s announcement of the pontiff’s death, at the Manila Cathedral in Manila, the Philippines, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Filipinos pray after the death of Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican, at the Cubao Cathedral in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Pope Francis waves from the Popemobile before leading a Mass at Rizal Park in Manila on January 18, 2015. Photo: Reuters

People pray after mass at Baclaran Church in Paranaque, Metro Manila on Monday following the death of Pope Francis in the Vatican. Photo: AFP

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (left) shows Pope Francis how to give the popular hand sign for “I love you” at the Mall of Asia arena in Manila, the Philippines, on January 16, 2015. Photo: AP

Filipino cardinal tipped to become next pope: ‘if I were God, I wouldn’t choose me’

Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle attends a rosary prayer at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome on April 24. Photo: AFP

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle greets Pope Francis at the opening session of a two-week bishops’ meeting on family issues at the Vatican in 2015. Photo: AP 

Luis Antonio Tagle at a mass in a church as part of the Caritas Day for Expo 2015 in Milan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Outpouring of grief in Indonesia over Pope Francis’ death: ‘we were so proud of him’

A teacher lights a candle next to a portrait of the late Pope Francis on display at St Stanislaus junior school in Surabaya on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Devotees light candles near a portrait of the late Pope Francis during a vigil at a church in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Monday. Photo: AP

Father James Damanik, a priest at the Immaculate Conception of Mary Cathedral in the city of Medan in Indonesia, says he is saddened by the death of Pope Francis. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

An Indonesian devotee shows flowers wrapped with a photograph of the late Pope Francis before giving condolences at the Vatican embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Students place flowers in front of a portrait of the late Pope Francis on display at St Stanislaus junior school in Surabaya on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Erwin, a long-time worshipper at the Immaculate Conception of Mary Cathedral in Medan, Indonesia. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

The Immaculate Conception of Mary Cathedral in Medan predates Indonesian independence and was built by the Dutch in 1905. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

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Luis Antonio Tagle began his career in Imus, where residents have fond memories of the cardinal with a 3-1 shot at becoming the next pope


Luis Antonio Tagle began his career in Imus, where residents have fond memories of the cardinal with a 3-1 shot at becoming the next pope.


Religion

Pope Francis

Holy See

Rodrigo Duterte

From Imus to pope? Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s hometown reflects on his journey

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Luis Antonio Tagle began his career in Imus, where residents have fond memories of the cardinal with a 3-1 shot at becoming the next pope

Luis Antonio Tagle began his career in Imus, where residents have fond memories of the cardinal with a 3-1 shot at becoming the next pope