MANILA, Philippines – Pope Francis named Father Rufino “Jun” Sescon Jr., rector of Quiapo Church, as the new bishop of the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan.
Sescon, 52, replaces Ruperto Santos, whom the Pope named bishop of Antipolo in April 2023, according to an announcement by the Vatican past 7 pm (Manila time) on Tuesday, December 3.
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.
Born in Manila on April 20, 1972, he received his philosophy and theology training at San Carlos Seminary. He also obtained master’s degrees in the two disciplines from the same institution.
Sescon was ordained to the priesthood on September 19, 1998.
Sescon, who was a longtime chaplain of Greenbelt Chapel in an upscale Makati City mall, served as private secretary to the late Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin from 2001 to 2005.
His predecessor as private secretary to Sin, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, was also a former bishop of Balanga.
The bishop-elect has been the rector of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church, one of the most popular Catholic shrines in Asia, since 2022. – Rappler.com