Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles John Brown recently led the thanksgiving mass at the Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Cathedral in Cabanatuan City to mark the 60th founding anniversary of the Diocese of Cabanatuan.
Church leaders, representatives from religious groups and the lay faithful of Cabanatuan, which has around one million Roman Catholics, were in attendance.
In his homily, the Papal Envoy called on the faithful to honor and give thanks to all those who have helped spread the faith.
“Walk their path, honor their memory, and respect the way they lived the faith and try to put into practice now what we see in the saints before us,” Archbishop Brown said.
“If we want to be faithful Catholics, we must walk in their footsteps,” the Papal Nuncio said as he encouraged the faithful to follow the example of those who have remained strong in faith.
The CBCP said, the Diocese of Cabanatuan oversees the parishes in the southern part of the Nueva Ecija.
Six decades ago, then Pope now Saint John XXIII, created the diocese out of territories taken from what was then the Diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan and the Diocese of San Fernando. In June 1963, Bishop Mariano Gaviola was ordained and installed in the Cabanatuan Cathedral as the first bishop of the diocese. At that time, the ecclesiastical territory comprised the entire Nueva Ecija.
In 1984, the diocese was then split into two, with the Diocese of San Jose governing the northern part of the province.
Diocese of Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud, said that six decades was a “long arduous journey but what stands out in all of these journeys is the loving presence of the Lord. We were able to go through this journey and faced all these challenges because of the love of God,” he said.
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