Pope appoints bishop for Iligan

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday announced the appointment of Bishop-elect Elenito Galido, who is currently based in the United States, as the new head of the Diocese of Iligan, where he is expected to provide spiritual guidance for an estimated one million Catholics.

The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that Galido will assume a post left vacant for almost two years. He assumed the post after Bishop Emilio Bataclan, 65, was appointed auxiliary bishop of Cebu in June 2004.

In caring for his flock, Galido will be assisted by 58 priests, comprised of 35 diocesan and 23 religious, plus 95 other religious men and women who worked in 26 parishes.

Galido is the associate priest at the St. Francis de Sales Church in Brooklyn, New York and is completing his master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Care.

The 52-year-old Galido was born in the town of Managok in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon province. He studied Theology at the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary in Davao City.

He was ordained into the priesthood in 1979 and assigned as the spiritual director at the Pope John XXIII College Seminary in Malaybalay and he later became the seminary’s rector in 1986.

During that time, he also served as the parish priest of the Immaculate Conception parish in Kibawe from 1982 to 1984.

The bishop-elect held two major positions in the Diocese of Malaybalay — chancellor in 1986 and as vicar general two years after. In 1991, Galido began his career as the administrator of the San Isidro Cathedral in Malaybalay, where he served for five years.

Meanwhile, Malacañang assured Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI Thursday in the Vatican City, of the full support of Filipino Catholics all over the world.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Filipinos are proud and happy that a Filipino was again chosen as one of the new "princes" of the Church who will serve as the advisers of the Pope and choose his successor.

"His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales is assured of the full support of the Filipino Catholic community here and abroad as he proceeds to help Pope Benedict in spreading the message of peace, hope and love throughout the world," Bunye said in a press statement.

"The Filipino people are overjoyed at the elevation of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales as a member of the elite College of Cardinals," he said.

Bunye said Rosales deserves the honor as he has guided the Filipino people along the path of moral and spiritual enlightenment and has tirelessly helped the poor.

"This is a singular honor for our beloved Archbishop and it is very well- deserved considering his noble work in pursuing the mission of the Church especially among the poor," he said.

Rosales heads Asia’s biggest diocese, the Metropolitan See of Manila. He is the sixth Filipino to be ordained as cardinal. He was among the 15 new cardinals ordained by the Pope in Vatican. — With Paolo Romero