Four conferred Knights of St. Sylvester

CEBU, Philippines - Four men were conferred the title of Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester while 10 priests were awarded the title of Monsignor at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral yesterday.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal personally awarded the Medal of the Order of St. Sylvester to University of Cebu president Augusto Go, Francisco Lebron, Dr. Manuel Lim and Chong Hua Hospital chief executive officer Leo Lim Liu.

Liu was escorted by his wife, Norma Liu, who was conferred Dame of St. Sylvester in 2007.

The medal of the Order of St. Sylvester is awarded to individuals for their invaluable support to the Roman Catholic Church for at least 15 years.

Awards of the order are generally made upon the recommendation of diocesan bishops, or of apostolic nuncios.

The 10 parish priests who can be now called monsignors are Raul Go, Sindulfo Iriarte, Antonio Medida, Marnell Mejia, Vicente Rey Penagunda, Antonio Quintana, Daniel Sanico, Trinidad Silva Jr., Vicente Tupas, and Rey Montesclaros.

The 10 new monsignors were among the hundreds of parish priests who underwent an elimination process before they finally qualified for the title. 

Yesterday’s ceremony was part of the celebration of the 415th founding of Cebu as a diocese and 75th year as an archdiocese.

Last week, Vidal also conferred the Cross of Honor for service to the Church and the Pontiff (Cross Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice) to 32 Cebuano papal awardees who have also rendered invaluable service and contributions to the Roman Catholic Church. (THE FREEMAN)