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Rome – Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, head of the Vatican’s powerful evangelization office and a close associate of Pope Francis, tested positive for the coronavirus, the Vatican confirmed on Sept. 11.
Tagle was returning to his native Philippines for a visit there and tested positive upon arrival in Manila on September 10 without showing any symptoms, Matteo Bruni, head of the Vatican press office, told NCR.
Bruni said the Vatican is now reaching out to those known to have been in contact with Tagle in recent days. He also said that the cardinal had been previously examined on September 7, with a negative result, indicating that the window of possible transmission of the virus should be short.
Tagle is known to have met Francis for the last time on August 29, when the pontiff received him for an official visit in his role as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Tagle previously served as Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019. Francis appointed him to his new position in December, tasking the cardinal with directing the Vatican office that is responsible for governing much of the Catholic Church’s presence in the world in developing.
The 63-year-old cardinal known for his affable and generous demeanor has been widely viewed as a possible future pontiff.
[Joshua J. McElwee is NCR Vatican correspondent. His email address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @joshjmac.]
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