MANILA, Philippines – A former aide to the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin was ordained a Catholic bishop on Tuesday, February 25, the 39th anniversary of the historic church-backed uprising that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.
Father Rufino “Jun” Sescon Jr., former rector of Quiapo Church and former chaplain of Greenbelt Chapel, formally became a bishop in a three-hour ceremony at the iconic Manila Cathedral on Tuesday.
After his ordination in Manila, 52-year-old Sescon is set to be installed as bishop of the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan on Saturday, March 1.
The prelate who ordained him, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, was his predecessor as private secretary to Sin, who helped mount the EDSA People Power Revolution from February 22 to 25, 1986.
Villegas was also a former bishop of Balanga.
The memory of Sin filled the air in the jampacked 2,000-seater Manila Cathedral, the seat of the Manila archbishop.
Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula said in his homily: “We cannot retell our story as a people without the EDSA People Power of 1986, and our history as a Catholic nation without the voice of EDSA, Jaime Cardinal Sin. Indeed, we are standing as grateful and proud descendants of heroes and witnesses. It is our holy pride. We are proud of this heritage.”
“The story of EDSA People Power is a story of prayer power. It is a story of a praying nation using the values of the Gospel for social change,” Advincula added.
The Manila archbishop told Sin’s former aide to “take courage” as he leads the Diocese of Balanga.
The Diocese of Balanga is composed of more than 608,000 Catholics in Bataan, a province 130.9 kilometers north of the Philippine capital of Manila. The province is the site of the Bataan Death March, where up to 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war started a fatal 104-kilometer march under Japanese invaders during World War II.
“Bataan is a peninsula of courage and valor. Let the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) at Mount Samat teach you to be a fearless preacher of the Gospel in season and out of season, in war and in peace,” Advincula told Sescon.
“Let the groaning of the poor, the anxiety of the jobless and the aches of the sick be your blessing,” the Manila archbishop added.
Advincula ended his homily by turning again to Sin, who was his high school Latin teacher in Roxas City, Capiz. The Aklan-born Sin was the former archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo, before he became Manila archbishop for nearly 30 years, from 1974 to 2003.
“Bishop Jun, we know in our hearts that dear Cardinal Sin looks down from heaven’s windows and beams with beatific delight,” said Advincula, archbishop of Manila from 2021.
“I know you also feel deeply in your soul the motherly smile of Concepcion, your mother. Her baby is now a successor of the apostles and more than that, the bishop of her native town Balanga. It is grace. It is destiny. It is the will of the Lord,” Advincula said.
Sescon, in his message after he was ordained, also paid tribute to his mentor.
Born in Manila on April 20, 1972, Sescon was a newly ordained priest when he served as an assistant to Sin from 1998 to 2001, and as secretary from 2001 to 2005.
He assisted Sin during the second EDSA People Power uprising from January 16 to 20, 2001, that ousted Joseph Estrada as president. Like in the 1986 revolt, Sin was among the key figures in the mass protest known as EDSA Dos.
It was similar to the role played by Villegas for Sin during the 1986 uprising.
“Today, I received the grace of the episcopate on the occasion of the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution as a form of prayer for generosity, that I may never forget, that we may never forget,” Sescon said during his ordination.
“I pray that we may never forget that to be a good Christian, a good priest, a good bishop is also to give ourselves to become a good citizen, vigilant to truth, justice, integrity, freedom, and peace,” he said. “Ang tunay na maka-Diyos ay makabayan din (The truly godly are also patriotic).”
Sescon continued: “I thank the Lord for Jaime Cardinal Sin, priest, prophet, and patriot, one of the valiant heroes of EDSA, and the other generations of EDSA heroes, especially the family of former president Corazon Aquino, for nurturing the early stage of my priesthood.”
Aquino’s daughters, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz and Viel Aquino-Dee, attended Sescon’s ordination on the 39th anniversary of People Power.
Sescon also thanked Villegas, his mentor, for handing on the pastoral staff he inherited from Sin, who had received it from José Maria Cuenco, his predecessor as archbishop of Jaro.
Referring to Sin, Sescon said, “I assure you, his spirit will live on. The EDSA spirit continues because our faith impels us to be generous, as to become the conscience and prophets of society.”
“May we never forget that during those four glorious days in February of 1986, just like countless times in our nation’s history, God’s powerful presence was in our midst. Mama Mary, full of grace, was also there, and she will always be with us,” Sescon continued.
“It is not only people power but prayer power, when genuine faith, patriotism, selflessness, common good, and genuine unity pervade among us against tyranny, dishonesty, corruption, and injustice. Miracles will happen,” the new Catholic bishop said. – Rappler.com