POPE Francis appointed Reynaldo Bersabal as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento last Saturday, becoming the fifth prelate of Filipino descent in the United States.
In a report by CBCP News, Bersabal, 59, has been serving as pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Sacramento since 2022.
“Auxiliary bishop-elect Reynaldo Bersabal of Sacramento will be the fifth Filipino to be named bishop in the US,” said CBCP News, the official news agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The first four Filipino bishops in the US are Philadelphia Auxiliary Bishop Efren Esmilla, Salt Lake City Bishop Oscar Solis, Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Alejandro Aclan, and El Paso Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino.
Bersabal was born in Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental on October 15, 1964, and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro in 1991.
Among the posts he served in the Cagayan de Oro archdiocese were as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Snows Parish; parish administrator at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish; and parish priest at St. Francis Xavier Parish.
In April 2004, Bersabal was incardinated into the Diocese of Sacramento and served various posts, including parochial vicar at St. James Parish in Davis (1999 to 2001); parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish in Sacramento (2002 to 2003); pastor at St. Paul Parish in Sacramento (2003 to 2008); pastor at St. John the Baptist Parish in Folsom (2008 to 2016); and pastor at St. James Parish in Davis (2016 to 2022).
Since 2012, Bersabal has also been the liaison for the Filipino presbyterate.
The Diocese of Sacramento is one of the State of California’s 12 dioceses and has a population of 3.7 million, including more than one million Catholics.
The Diocese of Sacramento also covers 102 parishes, 40 missions, 36 elementary schools, and six high schools.
