“Church Holiday” declared on August 9 for installation of new bishop.
Diocese of Bacolod is installing its sixth bishop on Tuesday, August 9. All Christian and Catholic schools declare no cl(–foul word(s) removed–) to enable the students attend to the historial canonical installation.
Bishop Patricio Abella-Buzon has officially left the Diocese of Kabankalan, also in Negros Occidental, on Monday to replace Bishop (now Bishop Emeritus) Vicente M. Navarra who has resigned from the post last July.
Faithfuls in the towns under the supervision of Diocese of Bacolod welcomed the new bishop by waving flaglets colored yellow and white, the colors of Vatican, ang cheered as the caravan pass by them.
Though the reason for Navarra’s resignation was not mentioned, it is believed that it was because of old age. Navarra is 77-years-old and has been the bishop of Bacolod Diocese for 15 years before he decided to step down from pastoral care.
Navarra was bishop of the Diocese of Kabankalan before he was appointed by Vatican to head the Diocese of Bacolod. Buzon also succeeded him in Kabankalan.
The Bishop Emeritus appealed to the Catholic faithful to pray for his 66-years-old successor.
“Resignation is the official terminology of Vatican but it’s retirement because once you reach the age of 75, you have to file your retirement. I have exceeded two years because it took time for Vatican to look for my successor until they found Bishop Buzon to replace me. So they decided to take him out in Kabankalan where I also came from,” the bishop said.
Navarra said that he texted Buzon when he learned about his appointment to succeed him.
Diocese of Bacolod Bishop Emeritus Vicente Navarra.
“I texted him last night saying, ‘You know you will find Bacolod also a very encouraging apostolate and I told him that he will like it here. As long as he do his part best’,” he said.
Navarra, who was assigned bishop of the Diocese of Bacolod on May 24, 2001, described his stint as very enriching.
“In the sense that you found different kinds of people, situations, and circumstances, so it enriched my personal life and my personal growth. I found it very enriching and I believe that in my own little way, I have also helped people come closer to the Lord and made them faithful Christians and Catholics,” he said.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president, will install Bishop Patricio Buzon as the 6th bishop of the Diocese of Bacolod at an installation mass at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City on Tuesday morning.
Villegas will take the place of Papal Nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto who is sick, Fr. Felix Pasquin, rector of the San Sebastian Cathedral, said.