Quiapo church rector appointed as new Balanga diocese bishop

Pope Francis has chosen a new bishop to lead the Diocese of Balanga, according to the post of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News.

Fr. Rufino “Jun” Sescon Jr., the rector of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church, has been appointed to the diocese that covers Bataan province.

Sescon, 52, will succeed Bishop Ruperto Santos, who was appointed to lead the Diocese of Antipolo in July 2023.

Father Sescon was ordained in 1998 and has served as personal secretary to then-Manila archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin.

He was the chancellor in the Archdiocese of Manila and administrator of Villa San Miguel.

Before moving to Quiapo church, he spent many years in Makati City as chaplain of Greenbelt Chapel and priest-in-charge of Mary, Mother of Hope Chapel at Landmark.

He was a commissioner for the Formation of the Laity and Christian Communities, director of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Lay Formation Center, member of the Presbyteral Council, and the executive director of the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA). — BAP, GMA Integrated News