From Schoolmates to Cardinals, Tagle and David's in a Conclave

From Ateneo to the Sistine Chapel: Cardinals Tagle and David Bring Jesuit-Formed Hearts to the Conclave

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In the global Catholic landscape, few Filipino church leaders have garnered as much attention and respect as Cardinal Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle and Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David. Both men are often cited as prime examples of the pastoral model inspired by Pope Francis — bishops who are not aloof administrators but “shepherds with the smell of the sheep,” as the pontiff famously encouraged early in his papacy.

But beyond their pastoral warmth and proximity to the faithful, there exists a lesser-known yet profoundly formative influence that connects these two men not only to each other but also, in a unique way, to Pope Francis himself — their Jesuit training.

Though neither Tagle nor David is a member of the Society of Jesus, their formative years as seminarians were shaped in a Jesuit environment. Both were trained at the Jesuit-run San Jose Seminary in Quezon City, which is housed within the prestigious Ateneo de Manila University. It is the same academic and spiritual milieu that formed four of the five living Filipino cardinals: Gaudencio Rosales, Orlando Quevedo, Luis Antonio Tagle, and Pablo Virgilio David. This fact is quietly celebrated among Josefinos, even as their formators caution against pride and careerism — traits unbecoming of any servant of the Church.

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The San Jose Seminary, while not exclusively Jesuit in its end mission, has long been known for instilling in its students the Jesuit intellectual rigor, discipline, and pastoral sensitivity. Unlike Jesuits, who are members of a religious order and often dispatched globally for mission work, diocesan seminarians like Tagle and David were trained with the aim of serving in their respective dioceses. Nevertheless, the influence of Ignatian spirituality, with its emphasis on discernment, reflection, and a deep attentiveness to the workings of God in everyday life, has clearly marked their priesthoods.

Tagle, who hails from Imus, Cavite, and David, born in Guagua, Pampanga, shared more than a seminary. They walked the same university corridors and sat in the same lecture halls at Ateneo de Manila University during the late 1970s. Tagle completed his bachelor’s degree in pre-divinity in 1977, graduating summa cum laude along with classmates Raul Montemayor and N. Adlai de Pano. David, who followed just a year later, graduated cum laude in 1978 with 21 other honorees.

Even then, the seeds of mutual respect had been sown. During Cardinal Tagle’s despedida in January 2020, Cardinal David fondly recalled the time when Tagle, as a year ahead in formation, would lead review sessions for younger seminarians. “He could simplify complicated thoughts,” David said. “That was the rare gift of Cardinal Chito. His brightness seemed to brighten other people.”

This observation would prove prophetic, as Cardinal Tagle emerged as one of the most articulate and accessible voices in the global Church. Whether addressing theologians at an international synod or speaking to farmers in the Philippine countryside, he has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to tailor his message — sometimes using intricate theological vocabulary, and at other times relying on simple metaphors and humor. His pastoral agility and intellectual finesse have made him a widely respected figure, even in the halls of the Vatican, where he currently serves as Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Cardinal David, too, has risen in prominence, particularly through his leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), where his deep social engagement and fearless voice in matters of justice and human rights have drawn both praise and scrutiny. Like Tagle, he is known for a style of leadership that combines academic depth with street-level compassion.

Their shared Jesuit background, while not often emphasized in mainstream narratives, is particularly relevant now as the global Church continues to reflect on the legacy of the first Jesuit pope, Francis, and anticipates the eventual need to elect a successor. In such times of discernment, the formative paths of possible papal contenders or influencers — including their intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral foundations — become part of the ecclesial conversation.

The model of a shepherd close to the people is not born overnight. It is shaped through years of reflection, accompaniment, study, and formation — all deeply embedded in the kind of training Tagle and David received. Their style of leadership reflects more than just personal charisma; it reflects a spirituality honed by the Ignatian tradition: one that discerns deeply, listens attentively, and acts courageously.

As the global Church continues to navigate complex challenges — from secularization in the West to persecution in other parts of the world — leaders like Tagle and David, grounded in both compassion and theological depth, offer a compelling vision of hope. They are not merely products of their seminary but of a larger tradition that calls for servant-leadership shaped by prayer, study, and proximity to those on the margins.

In many ways, their journey mirrors that of Pope Francis himself, who has modeled what it means to be a pastor before being a prelate. In Tagle and David, one sees not only the continuity of this vision but perhaps also a glimpse of its future.

In the most sacred and secretive hall of decision-making on Earth—the Sistine Chapel—cardinals from across the globe will soon gather to elect the next pope. Among them are two men shaped not just by their theology, but by a shared formation rooted in the Philippine soil and tempered in the intellectual and spiritual fires of Jesuit education, Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David.

They arrive at this moment with decades of pastoral service behind them and the quiet strength of a tradition that shaped their minds and hearts long before they wore red. Their journey did not begin in the gilded halls of Rome but in the sun-drenched classrooms and humble chapel benches of Ateneo de Manila University, where their lives were steeped in the teachings of the Society of Jesus.

If Tagle is known for his theological brilliance and gentleness of speech, David has been the Church’s steel spine in stormy times—especially as bishop of Kalookan, where he stood as a sheltering presence for victims of extrajudicial killings under the Duterte regime. Together, they represent two sides of the same Jesuit coin: a Church that speaks truth to power, and a Church that speaks grace to the suffering.

Though Cardinal Tagle’s college batch never produced a yearbook write-up, David’s 1978 entry is telling—not only for its youthful admiration but for the accuracy with which it prophesied the man he would become.

“‘A man isn’t always judged by how rich he is or how talented he is, but rather by how his richness enriches other people and how much his talents make other people talented.’ Ambo is just like that because he is able to forget himself and reach out to people. Mind you, Ambo is gifted with brains and a heart.”

The write-up continues, noting his “clarity, system, and comprehensiveness,” but insisting that his intelligence is only as powerful as the compassion that propels it. “It becomes all the more noticeable because it is coupled with a heart that does not only feel but actually reaches out,” it concludes.

That heart has since become a hallmark of David’s ministry—where theology meets courage and where the faith of a bishop meets the fire of justice. He has been called many things: a scholar, a defender, a thorn in the side of tyranny. But perhaps the most faithful description remains the one penned when he was just a graduating philosophy student: brains and a heart.

The same could be said of Tagle, whose academic path is marked with brilliance—graduating summa cum laude in pre-divinity in 1977, before eventually earning a doctorate in theology in Rome. Yet, in both men, the spotlight always bends away from themselves and toward others.

In them is echoed the vision of the late Jesuit Superior General, Father Pedro Arrupe, who once said the Church must form “men and women for others,” people who are “completely convinced that love of God which does not issue in justice for others is a farce.”

This is not coincidental. Both Tagle and David were trained at the Jesuit-run San Jose Seminary, and the marks of that formation run deep. The seminary, nestled within Ateneo’s Loyola Heights campus, is more than just a training ground—it is a crucible where future priests are formed not only in liturgy and doctrine but in discernment, empathy, and action.

The fact that four out of five living Filipino cardinals trace their roots to this very seminary is no accident. Yet their formators were always quick to remind them: humility is not optional. In the spiritual DNA of the Jesuit-trained, careerism is an enemy. Service is the only ambition.

As the conclave begins on Wednesday, May 7, speculation swirls. Will the next pope carry on the legacy of Francis—a fellow Jesuit, a pastor of margins, a voice for the voiceless—or will the College of Cardinals pivot toward a more institutional, managerial papacy? In that context, the Jesuit formation of Tagle and David can be seen either as a strength or a threat—depending on what kind of Church their brother cardinals believe the future needs.

For those who see the papacy as the continuation of Francis’ reforming mission, Tagle’s global appeal, theological depth, and natural charisma make him a compelling papabile—a man genuinely considered electable to the highest office in the Church. David, though not often mentioned among frontrunners, exerts a moral gravity that few others can match. His advocacy for human rights has turned diocesan walls into shelters and pulpits into platforms for justice.

In many ways, this moment brings their formation full circle. From young men in philosophy lectures at Ateneo to cardinals beneath Michelangelo’s frescoes, the path has been long, but consistent in direction: downward, into humility; outward, into service.

They carry into the conclave not just hopes of their homeland, but the weight of a question that Pope Francis has posed repeatedly: Who is the Church for?

For the Jesuit-formed, the answer has always been clear. The Church is for the poor. The Church is for the wounded. The Church is for those who have no voice.

And if the cardinals gathered in Rome choose to continue that vision, they may find the future already waiting in two familiar figures—Chito and Ambo, who once walked the paths of Ateneo, and now walk solemnly into history. – omnizers.com