Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Today, Pope Leo XIV approved the election of Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, 69, as Dean of the College of Cardinals. This follows the resignation of 92-year-old Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, now Dean Emeritus, who held the position for seven years.
Tagle is the first Asian to serve in this capacity, the only non-European to do so before him was Cardinal Bernardin Gantin (1993–2002) from Benin, Africa.
Tagle also serves as Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, specifically the Section for First Evangelisation and New Particular Churches. Within the ancient College of Cardinals, he will act as primus inter pares (first among equals).
The pontiff approved the election, which took place yesterday among the Order of Cardinal-Bishops, whose members are currently in Rome for an international meeting on families marking the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (2016).
The Dean of the College of Cardinals holds a high-ranking position within the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Tagle will serve a five-year term, renewable once, as mandated by Pope Francis in a 2019 Motu Proprio, whereby the position is no longer held for life, as had previously been the case.
Rather than exercising a governing role, the Dean is responsible for coordinating the activities of fellow cardinals worldwide. His main duties concern the convening of a conclave in the event of a Sede Vacante, as well as presiding over it, provided he is an elector, meaning he is under the age of 80.
Philippine couple at the Amoris Laetitia 10th anniversary proceedings
Also today, a briefing was held at the Holy See Press Office regarding the work accomplished so far during the Vatican gathering (7-14 October), marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia.
A married Philippine couple, Charmaine Bernadette and Eren Lyle Villegas, was also present, a testament to the global, specifically Asian, participation in what Father Giacomo Costa described as the “first steps” of a shared journey.
Along with the pope, the event includes experts and families, as well as heads of Eastern Churches and presidents of Bishops' Conferences.
Charmaine Bernadette and Eren Lyle Villegas, “happily married for 16 years” as they noted while exchanging a knowing glance, attended as representatives of the many couples present at the gathering.
The Philippine couple expressed their gratitude and surprise at being present, for the very first time, at such a significant event to share their “life experience”. “We are part of the families,” Bernadette said.
During the proceedings, the couple shared their “commitment to young people and families in pastoral work,” telling the press their desire to “learn about the commitments of other cultures” with which they have come into contact.
Other guests were also present, a sign of the diversity of “witnesses” (as Father Giacomo Costa described them) participating in the three-day sessions held in the Paul VI Hall at the behest of Pope Leo XIV, such as Coptic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak of Alexandria, and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, who chairs both the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) and the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).
Father Costa: The start of a shared journey
Before a brief introduction of those present, Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, a Consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod and the person responsible for the meeting's methodology, took the floor.
He spoke of the intensity characterising these first days, noting that every working session, following a format already used in Synods and Consistories, is "rooted in shared prayer”, involving a mix of conversations, addresses, and testimonies interspersed with shared moments of silence and prayer.
Father Costa described the proceedings as the start of a journey in which participants get to know and listen to one another, before moving on to "start raising questions and issues”.
He highlighted that the reflections centre on a changing world, characterised above all by new forms of "human mobility" and "migration”, topics mentioned by all the groups and significantly impact "family relationships”, including separated families.
The coordinator also touched upon "digital culture”, pointing out how it shapes both "stories" and "experiences”.
He emphasised the "creativity" of families, which enables them to address the risks of technology misuse, particularly among the young, as well as to devise "new ways of being together”.
Supporting families: the gap between desire and capacity
The issue of accompaniment was also raised. As Leo XIV highlighted in his remarks yesterday, a gap exists between "desire" and "capacity”. In other words, the Church often wishes to provide support but "does not quite know how to go about it”, especially regarding support for families, which is frequently relegated to just a few "weekends”.
Thus, "Accompaniment risks becoming a buzzword that unites us in theory but remains undefined in practice," Father Costa explained. "We must address it together, from a synodal perspective,” he noted.
The Jesuit then touched upon the "fragilities" present throughout the universal Church, fragilities that are, nonetheless, the very place where the "strength" of God's love resides.
Mention was made of the "pressures" families face worldwide, particularly due to work, gender-based violence, and war, as well as the issue of "dowries”, a practice still deeply rooted in certain cultures.
All these issues are being addressed in a "constructive, pleasant, and serene" atmosphere, he said, emphasising the need for “dialogue that allows us to explore diverse perspectives”.
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