'Day of Thanksgiving' for outgoing Manila archbishop set Nov. 21

A "Day of Thanksgiving" has been set on November 21 outgoing Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. A news release posted on the Archdiocese of Manila website said Thanksgiving Masses will be held in all parishes, shrines, and chaplaincies on that day. "A six-minute video message of the Cardinal will be shown (after the Mass or at the fellowship). The CDs of the video message have been distributed to all the communities concerned," the archdiocese said.. Rosales was installed Archbishop of Manila on November 21, 2003. Rosales submitted his resignation in 2007 when he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops but the Pope extended his term indefinitely. Rosales (born August 10, 1932) succeeded the late Jaime Cardinal Sin as Archbishop of Manila in 2003. Rosales was born in Batangas City, Batangas to Dr. Godofredo Dilay Rosales and Remedios Mayo Borbón, a first cousin of Filipino nationalist Claro M. Recto. Rosales' grandfathers were Julian Rosales, a former mayor of the town of Batangas and Pablo Borbon, a former governor of Batangas province. Rosales' successor Earlier this year, Pope Benedict accepted Rosales' resignation and appointed Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle as his successor. A CNN Vatican analyst earlier said the 54-year-old Tagle was not only "a rising star in the Asian Church" but also a "papal contender." Tagle is known for not owning a car and for going to work by bus. He is also known for also known for inviting poor beggars outside the cathedral to share a meal with him. Tagle took his philosophy and theology studies at the San Jose Major Seminary based in the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. He was born on June 21, 1957 and was ordained to the priesthood on February 27, 1982 at the age of 25. He earned his doctorate in sacred theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC, where he studied from 1985 to 1992. He has been a member of the International Theological Commission of the Vatican since 1997, and sat as an expert at the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia in Rome. He is currently the chairman of the CBCP’s Commission on Doctrine of the Faith. - VVP, GMA News