An anecdote that the Filipino bishop fondly shared to the public.
During the post-conclave press conference at Vatican City, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who was seated in between Cardinal Jose F. Advincula and Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David recalled a memory that happened during the conclave.
According to the Tagle, he was seated beside Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who is now the newly-installed Pope Leo XIV.
At one point, he saw the first American pope taking deep breaths, and so the Filipino cardinal asked him if he wanted to have some sweets, which the former Cardinal Prevost gladly accepted.
“Lagi ako may baong candy. Eh katabi ko nga si Cardinal Prevost. Noong humihinga na siya ng malalim, sabi ko, ‘Gusto mo ng candy?’ Sabi niya, ‘Sige bigyan mo ko ng isa.’ Sabi ko, ‘Yan ha. ‘Yan ang unang act of charity ko sa bagong santo papa.”
Cardinal Tagle also narrated that during his first participation in the papal conclave in 2013, which saw the election of the late Pope Francis, he had also brought candies with him to the Sistine Chapel.
During which, he was asked by a Colombian priest of what he brought. And when Tagle told him that he has candy caramel, the other member of the College of Cardinals jokingly called him a “little boy.”
“Sabi niya, ‘This little boy, bringing candies in the Sistine Chapel.’ Eh sabi ko, ‘Ang haba-haba ng ano [botohan], minsan nagugutom ako.’ Tapos sabi niya, ‘Meron ka pa bang isa? Bigyan mo nga ako’.”
Cardinal Tagle, along with Cardinals Advincula and David, were part of the 133 priests from around the world that voted for the next pope that would succeed Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 last April 21.