Servant of God Bishop Alfredo Verzosa’s 69th death anniversary was marked recently at the Pope Francis Hall of the Vigan Cathedral in Ilocos Sur.
Bishop Alfredo F. Verzosa (Facebook)
Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia Archbishop Mario Peralta presided over the holy mass in honor of Bishop Verzosa whose cause for sainthood was initiated in 2013.
Archbishop Peralta said Bishop Verzosa’s recognition as a saint will happen “in God’s own time. It will happen but as to when, we do not know. We trust in God’s wisdom. We trust in God’s own way of doing things, in God’s own time,” he said in his homily.
Archbishop Peralta said the process of attaining sainthood may take several years after declaring someone as a Servant of God. The cause for the next step, the beatification of Bishop Verzosa that would declare him as “Blessed” was received in Rome seven years ago.
According to the CBCP, Bishop Verzosa’s cause for sainthood was initiated in 2013. It was affirmed by the granting of the “nihil obstat” by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Following the diocesan inquiry in 2016, the cause was brought to the Vatican. With the issuance of the decree of validity in 2017, the “Roman Phase” of the cause began.
“The status of the cause of Bishop Verzosa so far has not encountered any serious problems. It is ongoing and it only needs to be followed up,” Archbishop Peralta added.
Bishop Verzosa was born in Vigan in 1877. He was ordained as a priest for Nueva Segovia in 1904. The prelate became the first Filipino Catholic bishop from the Ilocos region.
From 1917 to 1951, he served the then Diocese of Lipa, which included the provinces of Batangas, Tayabas (now Quezon), Laguna, Mindoro, and Marinduque.
Throughout his episcopate, his primary pastoral focus was catechism, which led him to establish the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart (MCSH), a diocesan religious congregation for women, in 1923.
MCSH Sisters, including their Superior General Mother Mary Julie Micosa attended the mass to commemorate Bishop Vwezosa’s death anniversary.
The MCSH nuns were on a pilgrimage to revisit the roots of their founder as they also commemorated the 100th anniversary of the MCSH’s foundation. A prayer service was held at the bishop’s tomb in the Vigan Cathedral. The nuns also visited some parishes where Verzosa served as a priest.
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