Archdiocese of Manila mourns passing of
Jaime Cardinal Sin

The faithful of the Archdiocese of Manila and the rest of the country to whom he was always a caring shepherd awoke this morning (June 21) to news that Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, Archbishop Emeritus of Manila, had passed away.

The Cardinal, who had been confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center since Sunday (June 19), succumbed to multiple organ failure secondary to sepsis at 6:15 a.m. He was 76.

Acknowledged as a world leader and champion of justice and peace, the Cardinal had served as Archbishop of Manila from 1974 to 2003, when he retired from active ministry at the age of 75. He has been described as a “patriot and a prophet.”

Bishop Socrates Villegas, Bishop of Balanga and the Cardinal’s long-time private secretary, and Fr. Rufino Sescon, Jr., his present secretary, were with him at the time of his death.

Fr. Sescon said the Cardinal was brought to the hospital on Sunday evening from his residence at Villa San Miguel for management of a fever. Unlike during his other previous medical confinements, this last episode escaped media attention and thus the people were not aware of his critical condition.

It was later learned that Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Rosales, Sin’s successor in the Archdiocese, visited the Cardinal on Monday evening. Archbishop Rosales recalled that that evening the Cardinal was administered the Sacrament of the Sick by Bishop Villegas and that he gave him a “farewell blessing” before he left.

“He seemed ready to face his Lord, whom he served so very much,” Rosales said in an interview over Radio Veritas later in the morning.

From the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, the Cardinal’s remains were brought to the Arlington Funeral Homes in Quezon City for arrangements, and then transferred to the Manila Cathedral for the vigil.

The clergy of Manila welcomed his remains in the cathedral, where he was brought and where he will lie in state until his burial. Archbishop Rosales led in the celebration at 1 p.m.of a requiem Mass for him, the first since his death. The 100 priests in attendance were joined by early mourners led by former President Corazon C. Aquino and former Ambassadors Howard Dee and Henrietta de Villa, seminarians and lay people.#

Pls. refer: Peachy E. Yamsuan/Archdiocesan Office of Communications/5273962