Cardinal Tagle to preside over Mass on Wednesday as Pope Leo recovers from surgery

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Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will preside over a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, October 14, in place of Pope Leo XIV, as the pontiff recovers from surgery and a subsequent hospital stay.

The Vatican said Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will lead the celebration at 10 a.m. (Vatican time) to be attended by participants in a Church meeting, including heads of Eastern Churches, presidents of bishops’ conferences, married couples and experts.

The Mass will include prayers for the Pope’s health and for families, Jesuit priest Giacomo Costa said at a Vatican briefing.

Tagle was recently approved by Leo as dean of the College of Cardinals, becoming the first Asian cleric selected for the position.

The dean of the college of cardinals is considered the "first among equals" among the Church's highest-ranking clerics and is responsible for taking charge of the secretive conclave process, held in the Sistine Chapel, once a pope dies or resigns.

The dean, elected by his peers and approved by the pope, serves a five-year term that can be renewed once, according to Church law. The role has mostly been filled by Europeans, but was held by the late Beninese Cardinal Bernardin Gantin from 1993-2002.

Tagle is seen as a close ally of Pope Francis and is known for an infectious smile and is sometimes called by his diminutive nickname "Chito". He leads the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization, effectively the Church's missionary arm.

Following his election, Cardinal Tagle will assume the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Ostia while retaining the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano.—With a report from Reuters/LDF, GMA News