Cebu’s Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal dies

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal died on Wednesday morning, October 18, one week after he was rushed to the hospital for fever and shortness of breath and then collapsed into a coma.

He was 86.

Dr Rene Joseph Bullecer, one of Vidal’s doctors and closest friends, said he received a call at 7 am that the cardinal was being revived because his blood pressure went down. The cardinal died minutes later, he said.

Monsignor Joseph Tan, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu, also confirmed that Vidal died Wednesday morning.

“It is confirmed. Our beloved Cardinal has returned to our Creator at 7:28 this morning,” Tan said. He added that it was Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma who told him about the death of Vidal.

Funeral arrangements are still being made.

“It also surprised me that he died because his condition was stable the past days. This is a sad day for us,” Tan said, admitting that it was hard for him to accept Vidal’s death. (READ: Bishops mourn death of Cebu’s Cardinal Vidal)

Bullecer said Vidal’s condition had deteriorated since Monday, October 16, after he woke up from a coma on Friday, October 13. According to the doctor, the cardinal was in a semi-coma state, meaning his pain response was working.

On Wednesday morning, however, Bullecer said attending physicians tried to revive Vidal after his blood pressure went down and he turned pale. – Rappler.com