Baguio bishop says city’s faithful ‘God’s precious gifts’

LEADING THE FLOCK Bishop Rafael Cruz (right) receives from Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, the crosier or pastoral staff as he is installed as third bishop of the Diocese of Baguio on Tuesday. —Neil Clark Ongchangco

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The third bishop of the Diocese of Baguio was installed on Tuesday despite heavy rains brought by Tropical Depression Gener as it crossed northern Luzon.

In rites led by Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Bishop Rafael Cruz assumed the leadership of the diocese and declared that the city’s faithful “are God’s precious gifts to me.”

Intermittent rains and thick fog did not stop residents from packing the Baguio Cathedral (officially known as Cathedral of Our Lady of the Atonement), which church officials described in an apostolic letter as not just a tourist landmark but also a historic part of the Catholic evangelization of the Cordillera.

READ: Pope Francis appoints Pangasinan priest as bishop of Baguio

The 64-year-old Cruz, who was born in Mapandan, Pangasinan, was ordained priest in 1985 and has been serving local communities for more than three decades beginning with the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, according to a private church archive, Catholic-Hierarchy.

Pastoral staff

He was handed his pastoral staff by Brown, formalizing his new role in the city, replacing Archbishop Victor Bendico, who has been assigned to Capiz province.

Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, the installation’s homilist, said, “Bishop Raffy chose a beautiful episcopal motto: ‘What would Jesus do?’”

Advincula said Cruz took his cue from St. Paul, who said in the Scriptures, “It is no longer I who lived but Christ who lives in me.”

“Bishop Raffy desired that Jesus take charge of his life, his decisions, his whole being,” the Manila prelate said, stressing that this was the conviction he brings as Baguio bishop.

“We represent multiple ethnicities, multiple cultures,” Advincula said, noting that the Catholic Church, through Cruz, would continue to gather and unite in the region.

Catholic leaders here said Cruz’s installation in Baguio continues the evolution of the church in Montañosa, the original Mountain Provinces during the American colonial period.

• On Aug. 24, 1948, Bishop William Brasseur was appointed to lead the Montañosa flock, a task he fulfilled until his retirement in 1981.
• On Nov. 25, 1992, Montañosa was divided into three vicariates, with Bishop Carlito Cenzon leading what is now Tabuk City in Kalinga province, Bishop Rogelio Galasgas handling Bontoc in Mt. Province, and Bishop Ernesto Salgado overseeing Baguio.
• On Nov. 17, 2004, Cenzon became the first bishop of the Diocese of Baguio. He was replaced by Bendico in January 2017 upon his retirement.