Late Pagadian bishop accorded grand welcome by various faith groups

Over a thousand people attended a Holy Mass for Bishop Lunas on Saturday, right after his remains arrived from Davao City. Photo by Leah D. Agonoy, Inquirer Mindanao

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — A grand welcome was displayed for the late Bishop Ronald Lunas on Saturday afternoon as his remains arrived here from Davao City where he died on Jan. 2.

Priests belonging to the Pagadian diocese carried his casket inside the Sto. Niño Cathedral during acceptance rites after which a Requiem Mass was held for Lunas.

READ: Pagadian Bishop Ronald Lunas; 57

The celebration of the eucharist was attended by over a thousand people, including leaders and members of the Interfaith Forum for Solidarity and Peace (IFSP), which counts among its ranks Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims, among others.

Sultan Maguid Maruhom, a Muslim convenor of the IFSP, was emotional after seeing Lunas.

“He was a very good friend. He was a friend to everybody, not just a friend for the Christians, but to all,” Maruhom recalled.

Rev. Belstar Ediang, Pagadian Diocese’s Vicar General, said members of the Subanen tribe were also in attendance during the Holy Mass.

Priests carry the casket of Bishop Lunas into the Sto. Niño Cathedral in Pagadian City. Photo by Leah D. Agonoy, Inquirer Mindanao

Lunas, 57, died of complications after his heart bypass operation.

Ediang said the daily vigil, funeral mass, and public viewing at the Cathedral “is open to all, as is the wish of Bishop Lunas.”

“The church is for everybody. It is a welcoming church,” Ediang recalls Lunas’ constant admonition to the faithful.

Mayor Samuel Co has vowed to secure the Cathedral premises throughout the wake of the prelate.

Ediang also asked for the public’s understanding of some minimum security protocols to be implemented to ensure the safety of all.