Church marks 75th year of Gorordo death

CEBU, Philippines - Today marks the 75th death anniversary of the first Cebuano Bishop Juan Gorordo (born Juan Perfecto de Gorordo) who served as the Bishop of Cebu for more than 20 years and whose Episcopal ordination in 1910 marked a very significant development in the history of the Filipino clergy.

A Holy Mass will be offered for him that will be officiated by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal himself at 4 p.m. today at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral to be followed by the opening of the Bishop Juan B. Gorordo Exhibit at the Cebu Cathedral Museum prepared by the Commission on Cultural Heritage.

Bishop Gorordo died on December 20, 1934 at the age of 72. Three years before that on July 1931, he had already retired from his position as bishop which gave sense of loss to the public whom he had dearly served.

He was the first Cebuano appointed bishop or the second Filipino bishop in the country after Bishop Jorge Barlin’s consecration in 1906.

His appointment was grandly celebrated because, at the time, Filipino priests, who for years were only occupying menial positions in parishes, were given the recognition by the Vatican.

It was the time that the Vatican has seen and trusted the Filipino clergy’s capability to run the local church.

A brief background of Gorordo’s life, published at the “Bag-ong Lungsoranon,” revealed that he was born on April 18, 1862 in the town of Barili by couple Don Juan Isidro Bautista de Gorordo and Doña Telesfora Garces.

He studied at the Colegio-Seminario de San Carlos where he was molded to be a true servant of the Lord. During his formative years in the seminary, he was a constant achiever so his professor also asked him to teach his fellow seminarians.

After being ordained as a priest in 1885, through his hard work and genuine passion for his job, he became a monsignor in 1905.

When the then American Bishop Tomas Agustin Hendrick died in November 1909, Gorordo was the one chosen to take over the position.

The Cebu Archdiocese also commemorates the 100th death anniversary of Hendrick because of the noteworthy things he had done for the Roman Catholic Church when during his reign from March 1904 to 1909, he was able to impart his knowledge and wisdom on the new ways of the church. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/MEEV   (FREEMAN NEWS)