BY GERARD NAVAL
POPE Francis has named Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr. as new bishop of the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan, which has been without a shepherd since July 2023, a report of CBCP News, official news agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said Tuesday.
Sescon will succeed Bishop Ruperto Santos has been named head the Diocese of Antipolo.
Sescon, in a video message, said, “Thanks to all the greetings and promise of prayer. I need all of those. With the help of the Jesus of Nazarene, I pray for His mercy, love, and blessing upon my arrival in Balanga.”
Sescon is the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Balanga which was established in March 1975. Prior to his appointment, Sescon was rector of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno (Quiapo Church) in Manila, since 2022.
Born in April 1972, Sescon was ordained as priest in September 1998 in the Archdiocese of Manila. After his ordination, he served as personal secretary to then-Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin.
He has also held various positions within the archdiocese, including as chancellor and administrator of Villa San Miguel, chaplain of Greenbelt Chapel, and priest-in-charge of Mary, Mother of Hope Chapel at Landmark.
Other roles he concurrently holds in the Archdiocese of Manila are commissioner for the Formation of the Laity and Christian Communities, director of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Lay Formation Center, and member of the Presbyteral Council.
There are nearly 700,000 Catholics and 59 priests in 38 parishes in the Balanga diocese.
