Jaime Lachica Sin PLH, OS, OL (Chinese: 辛海梅, 辛海棉; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from the Philippines. He was instrumental in the historic and peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled the dictatorship and ended martial law under Ferdinand Marcos and installed Corazon Aquino as his successor in the Fifth Republic of the Philippines.^[1] He was also a key figure in the 2001 EDSA Revolution that replaced President Joseph Estrada with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

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His Eminence Jaime Sin CCLH, GCS, GCrL, gcYC
Cardinal Archbishop of Manila
Sin in 1988
Province	Manila (Emeritus)
See	Archdiocese of Manila (Emeritus)
Installed	March 19, 1974
Term ended	September 15, 2003
Predecessor	Rufino Santos
Successor	Gaudencio Rosales
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria ai Monti
Orders
Ordination	April 3, 1954 by Antonio Frondosa
Consecration	March 18, 1967 by Antonio Frondosa
Created cardinal	May 24, 1976 by Pope Paul VI
Rank	Cardinal-priest
Personal details
Born	Jaime Lachica Sin (1928-08-31)August 31, 1928 New Washington, Capiz, Philippine Islands
Died	June 21, 2005(2005-06-21) (aged 76) San Juan, Philippines
Buried	Crypt, Manila Cathedral
Nationality	Filipino
Denomination	Catholic Church
Parents	Juan Sin (father) Máxima Lachica (mother)
Previous post(s)	Auxiliary Bishop of Jaro (1967–1972) Archbishop of Jaro (1972–1974)
Alma mater	St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary
Motto	Serviam "I will serve"
Signature
Coat of arms

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Sin was born on August 31, 1928, in New Washington, Aklan, on the island of Panay to Juan Sin, a merchant of Chinese descent, and Máxima Lachica, an ethnic Aklanon. "Jim" as he was known, was his mother's favorite. As the 14th of 16 children he was painfully thin, asthmatic child, who often used to cuddle up between his parents to sleep at night. When he asked his nurse why his mother lavished such attention on him, he was told it was because he was "the weakest and ugliest of the brood".^[2]

Events in the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos forced Sin, the spiritual leader of Filipino Catholics, to become involved in politics. He became witness to corruption, fraud, and even murder by the regime and rising popular discontent with the dictatorial rule of Marcos and his wife, Imelda.^[6] Within six months of his appointment as Archbishop, Sin was criticizing authorities after the military raided a Manila seminary on the grounds that it was harbouring insurgents.^[3] Sin appealed to Filipinos of all religions to follow the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels and use peaceful means to change the political situation in the Philippines.

Beginning in the 1970s, Cardinal Sin, a moderate, was among the leaders who publicly pressured President Marcos to end martial law, which had been imposed in the belief that leftist radicals would overthrow the government.^[8] Sin eventually decided to speak out in support of Corazon Aquino, the widow of the assassinated opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., in calling for an end to martial law. This led to massive popular demonstrations, often led by nuns whom riot police dared not attack.^[6] In February 1986, Sin called on Filipinos to surround the police and military headquarters in Manila to protect then-military Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos, who had broken with Marcos.^[8] More than one million people took to the streets praying the rosary and singing hymns in an outpouring that shielded anti-government rebels from attack. Some soldiers decided to join the marchers.

In what later became known as the People Power Revolution, Marcos, his family, and close advisors were forced to flee the Philippines^[6] and took up residence in Honolulu, Hawaii, US, on the invitation of U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Cardinal Sin, along with presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, became known to Filipinos as the architects of the People Power Movement.

Sin decided to intervene again in 2001 to become spiritual leader of another People Power Movement. Some Filipinos alleged that president Joseph Estrada was guilty of widespread corruption and graft because of the controversial "second envelope". Poor people marching in the streets, with the support of Sin, the elite, and military generals, succeeded in toppling Estrada from power and elevating Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as acting president in what was perceived by the international community as a "triumphant" democracy. The "second envelope" was opened after the coup and turned out to be Estrada's bank account. Commenting on the endemic corruption that persisted after Marcos, Sin said, "We got rid of Ali Baba, but the 40 thieves remained."^[9] It was reported that the cardinal's actions caused uneasiness at the Vatican and that he was summoned to Rome to explain himself.^[10]

Hours before hundreds of soldiers and officers staged a failed revolt against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in July 2003, Sin urged Filipinos to be vigilant against groups plotting to violently overturn the country's democratic institutions.^[9]

Two and a half years after Sin's death, it was reported that at the height of EDSA II, Sin received a directive from the Vatican ordering him and the Philippine clergy to adopt a non-partisan stance towards the political crisis.^[11] Sin, who by then had committed support for the EDSA II revolt, was said to have threatened to resign as archbishop if compelled to withdraw his support.^[11] The standoff was reportedly resolved with the mediation of the Supreme Court Associate Justice Artemio Panganiban (later, Chief Justice of the Philippines), a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, a department of the Roman Curia.^[11] As a result, the Vatican did not persist with its earlier demand. The reports were attributed to persons reputed to have first-hand knowledge of the events,^[11] but they were not confirmed officially by the Vatican or the Archdiocese of Manila.

Sin retired as Archbishop of Manila on September 15, 2003, and was succeeded by Lipa Archbishop Gaudencio Borbon Rosales. He was too ill to travel to the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. Afflicted for years with a kidney ailment brought on by diabetes, he was taken on June 19, 2005, to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, Metro Manila, because of a slight but lingering fever. He died of renal failure on June 21, 2005, at the age of 76.^[8] The government accorded him the honour of a state funeral and a period of national mourning through Presidential Proclamation No. 863, s. 2005 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was buried beside his three immediate predecessors in the crypt of Manila Cathedral after a funeral attended by thousands of Filipinos.^[12]