Manila, Philippines - Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales will most likely be the country's newest prince of the Church.
"I'm 110 percent sure about that," Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan told reporters yesterday.
Fr. Rufino Sescon, the private secretary of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, said "it's just a matter of time" before the Vatican made Rosales a cardinal. Rosales succeeded Sin as head of the Archdiocese of Manila.
Both Cruz and Sescon explained that by practice, whoever headed the powerful and influential See of Manila was named a cardinal or prince of the Church.
"That's automatic," Sescon told reporters yesterday. "I'll bet on that."
Cruz said this would also be the case for the future successor of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. He said the Holy See usually names Filipino cardinals only for the Archdioceses of Manila and Cebu.
If made a cardinal, Rosales would be part of the elite College of Cardinals which chooses the Pope.
Tens of thousands of mourners are expected to attend the funeral of Sin at the Manila Cathedral before noon tomorrow.
The burial of Sin, arguably the most prominent and important Filipino clergyman since the Spanish period, will gather top government officials headed by President Macapagal-Arroyo, whom he helped assume office in 2001.
Former presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, key players in the first Edsa Revolution spearheaded by the late prelate, are also expected to attend, together with Vice President Noli de Castro, Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon.
At least five foreign cardinals close to Sin--those of Los Angeles, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea and Tokyo--would attend the funeral, said Sescon.
According to Sescon, "governors down to the last mayor" in the provinces of Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo will join the final sendoff for their beloved prelate. Sin was a son of New Washington, Aklan, and former bishop of Jaro, Iloilo.
Catholic schools in and around Metro Manila will also send delegations. They will first gather at Rizal Park before marching to the cathedral before the 9 a.m. funeral march, Sescon said.
The Manila Archdiocesan Parochial Schools Association alone has at least 35 schools under its wing. Schools like the University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo de Manila University belonging to the Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines will also send massive contingents.
"Definitely, there'll be a huge turnout [of mourners]," Sescon told reporters yesterday.
The Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippine National Police, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Intramuros Administration and the Manila city government had all been tapped to manage the crowd, the priest said.
Police authorities created a task force to secure foreign dignitaries, politicians and the ordinary folk expected to pay their last respects to the well-loved cardinal.
"We're ready for the burial," said Director Vidal Querol, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office. He had assigned some 200 policemen to the task force, which he named "Task Force Ascension."
Querol is set to meet with Church officials today to discuss final details of the burial.
Besides securing visitors, policemen will see to the flow of traffic around the cathedral. No demonstration will be allowed near the cathedral.
Yesterday, mourners waited an average of 15 minutes for their turn to stand in front of Sin's mahogany casket, owing to the long queue that extended all the way to Plaza Roma outside the cathedral.
Though the number of people could hardly rival that which queued for opposition leader Fernando Poe Jr. or former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., more mourners were expected to come during the penultimate Mass at 7 tonight.
However, the Mass will be strictly for an intimate few, namely, Sin's relatives and former staff members at the Archdiocese of Manila and his Villa San Miguel residence in Mandaluyong, said Peachy Yamsuan, the See's communications director.
After the 7 p.m. Mass, Yamsuan said the cathedral would again be open to the public but only until 2 a.m. tomorrow so organizers could finish the funeral preparations.
The church will reopen at 6 a.m. in time for the funeral march three hours later.
A horse-drawn carriage will carry Sin's coffin around Plaza Roma to allow mourners outside the cathedral a final glimpse of his remains.
Back at the steps of the cathedral, the President will preside over state honors for Sin. It will be highlighted by "three volleys of fire" or a full 21-gun salute--the first time in Philippine history that such an honor will be accorded a clergyman, Sescon said.
The President will then hand over the Philippine flag that had draped Sin's casket to his younger brother, Dr. Ramon Sin, Sescon said.
Video walls
From the cathedral entrance, the coffin will be brought back to the front of the altar for the requiem Mass which will be concelebrated by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales with around 500 bishops and priests.
Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas, Sin's long-time protégé, will deliver the homily.
At least two huge video walls will be erected outside the cathedral to allow people to view the rites inside, Sescon said. He asked those who would not be able to attend the funeral to offer prayers.
"Let us pray for the eternal repose of the cardinal," he said.
"But more than praises and honors, I think the best way we can pay tribute to the cardinal is to continue his mission of promoting and defending the truth and really cultivating that deep faith in God in the hearts of every Filipino," Sescon added.
After the final Mass, Sin's former staff at Villa San Miguel will carry and lower his casket into its spot in the crypt beneath the cathedral.
Sescon said only 50 people, including the Apostolic Nuncio Antonio Franco and other top Catholic leaders, would be allowed in the crypt.
In his final resting place, Sin will take with him the symbols of his episopate and cardinalate, including a time capsule summarizing his illustrious religious life.