Three Filipino cardinals, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Jose Cardinal Advincula, and Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, took their oath of secrecy on Wednesday at the Sistine Chapel, marking the start of the conclave to elect a new pope.
The Filipino prelates joined 130 other cardinal-electors in solemnly reciting the oath in Latin, pledging to uphold the strict confidentiality of the centuries-old papal election process. Each cardinal then approached the Bible individually to make a personal vow, placing a hand upon it in a symbolic gesture of commitment.