Cardinal Vidal Passes Away

Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal died at 7:28 a.m. Wednesday at the Perpetual Succour Hospital here. He was 86.

Dr. Rene Bullecer, one of the cardinal’s attending physicians and personal friend, confirmed his death after almost an hour of resuscitation efforts by doctors.

“His blood pressure abruptly dropped and doctors tried to resuscitate and revive him. After an hour I was told that he expired,” Bullecer told reporters.

As of Tuesday, Vidal’s condition was stable after dialysis although he was unconscious at the intensive care unit of the hospital.

The country’s most senior cardinal was brought to the hospital last Oct. 11 due to fever and shortness of breath but later lost consciousness and remained in coma since then.

Vidal served as Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 until his retirement in 2011. (PNA)