From being an assistant to Cardinal Jaime Sin in the early 2000s, Father Rufino “Jun” Sescon Jr. has gained prominence as one of the country’s most charismatic preachers.
On Tuesday, December 3, Pope Francis gave him his most important assignment in his 26 years as a Catholic priest, appointing Sescon as the new bishop of the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan.
Sescon, 52, has been the rector of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church since 2022. In this role, he managed one of Asia’s most popular Catholic shrines, which attracts millions of devotees especially during its feast day every January 9.
He was also the chaplain of Greenbelt Chapel in an upscale mall in Makati City, for 17 years from 2005 to 2022. At Greenbelt Chapel, he started programs to enrich the faith of workers in Metro Manila’s central business district and also to help Catholic communities in need.
His new territory, the Diocese of Balanga, includes over 608,000 Catholics in the province of Bataan, around 130.9 kilometers north of Manila.
Sescon fills a vacancy created when the former bishop of Balanga, Ruperto Santos, was named bishop of Antipolo in May 2023.
Born in Manila on April 20, 1972, Sescon has been a priest of the Archdiocese of Manila since September 19, 1998.
Fresh from ordination, Sescon served as an assistant to Sin from 1998 to 2001, and as secretary from 2001 to 2005.
His association with Sin was so intimate that, on the night his appointment was announced in Manila, one of the first places he visited was the tomb of the late Manila archbishop in the crypt of the Manila Cathedral.
As aide to Sin, he followed in the footseps of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who was the cardinal’s private secretary even during the days of the 1986 People Power Revolution.
Coincidentally, Villegas was also a bishop of Balanga from 2004 to 2009.
Here is a list of Sescon’s other assignments in the past, as published by the Vatican:
- Deacon of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Santa Mesa, and finance officer of the Santa Mesa Parochial School, Manila (1998)
- Member of the youth pastoral office (2002-2008)
- Member of the College of Consultors and member of the Presbyteral Council (2003-2005)
- Director of Permanent Formation of Junior and Young Clergy and director of the Internship Program of Newly-Ordained Priests (2004-2008)
- Member of the College of Consultors, member of the Presbyteral Council, and chancellor of the archdiocese of Manila (2008-2015)
- Priest chargé of the Mary Mother of Hope Chapel, Makati City (2014-2022)
- Commissioner of the Commission for the Formation of Laypeople and Christian Communities (2015-2021)
- Spiritual director of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Lay Formation Center (since 2015)
- Member of the Presbyteral Council (since 2018)
- Vice chairman of the Manila Archdiocesan Seminary System Foundation Incorporated
- Member of the Council on Formation, Priestly and Lay Formation, and commissioner of the Commission for the Formation of Laypeople and Christian Communities (since 2021)
- Chairman of the Fundraising Committee (since 2022)
Sescon is a graduate of San Carlos Seminary, where he studied philosophy and theology, and earned master’s degrees in both disciplines. He is also an alumnus of Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
Reacting to his appointment as Balanga bishop, Sescon said on Wednesday, December 4, that he didn’t expect this new assignment.
“But the Lord’s plan, above all, must prevail,” Sescon said. “That’s why, even if I am filled with fear and I know my shortcomings, I am accepting this because I know that what I will bring to my mission is not myself, not my abilities, not my capabilities, but what God will accomplish through me.”
“Pray for me, pray for the People of God in Bataan,” Sescon said. – Rappler.com
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