Pinoy priest ordained Sacramento auxiliary bishop

MANILA, Philippines — A 59-year-old Filipino priest from Misamis Oriental was recently ordained as an auxiliary bishop in Sacramento, California.

The CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), reported that Rey Bersabal was formally made an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento during a mass last Friday (Saturday in Manila) at the city’s Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

Bersabal was ordained to the episcopate by Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, emeritus Bishop William Weigand and Archbishop Jose Cabantan of Cagayan de Oro as co-consecrators. Also present were 12 bishops and four cardinals, including emeritus Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo.

Before the ordination rite, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio in the US, read the apostolic letter from Pope Francis, testifying that Bersabal should be ordained bishop.

“By receiving this new calling… the Lord is asking you to continue the work of a pastor, which has been at the center of your priestly ministry for many years,” Pierre told the new bishop.

It was last April 20 when Pope Francis appointed Bersabal as auxiliary bishop of Sacramento.

In his homily, Soto emphasized that the title of bishop signifies a task and not an honor, as he encouraged Bersabal to be “faithful steward” of the church entrusted to his care.

One of the 12 dioceses in California, Sacramento has a population of around 3.6 million, with more than one million of them Catholics.

The diocese encompasses 102 parishes, 40 missions, three Newman Centers, 36 elementary schools and six high schools.

Bersabal urged the diocese’s more than 300 priests and permanent deacons to continue to work “shoulder to shoulder” in guiding and serving their flock.

Bersabal was born in Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental, on Oct. 15, 1964. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro on April 29, 1991 and came to Sacramento in 1999 at the invitation of Bishop Weigand and has since served in various posts.

Bersabal was incardinated into the Sacramento diocese on April 7, 2004.