FR. RUFINO “Jun” Sescon Jr., the former secretary to the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, was consecrated as bishop in a three-hour ceremony on Feb. 25 at the Manila Cathedral, coinciding with the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution.
Sescon will be installed as bishop of the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan on Saturday, March 1 at the Cathedral Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph.
In his thanksgiving message during the ceremony, Sescon said his ordination coinciding with the 1986 revolt that toppled a two-decade dictatorship was “a form of prayer for generosity” that should remind him to “never forget.”
“Tayo ay dapat makabayan dahil tayo ay maka-Diyos,” Sescon said. “May we never forget that during those four glorious days in February of 1986, just like countless times in our nation’s history, God’s powerful presence was in our midst.”
He said people power was a testament to the power of prayer.
“When genuine faith, patriotism, selflessness, common good, unity, genuine unity pervade among us against tyranny, dishonesty, corruption, and injustice, miracles will happen,” he said.
The new bishop paid tribute to his mentor Cardinal Sin for nurturing the early stage of his priesthood.
“I thank the Lord for Jaime Cardinal Sin, priest, prophet, and patriot, one of the valiant heroes of EDSA, and the other generations of EDSA heroes.”
The late Cardinal Sin was one of the leading figures of the 1986 revolt. He called on millions of Filipinos, in a message on Radio Veritas, to shield Fidel Ramos, then head of the constabulary, and defense chief Juan Ponce Enrile, who had mounted a military putsch and were holed up at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Sescon served as Sin’s aide from 1998 to 2001 and secretary from 2001 to 2005. He assisted Sin during the second EDSA People Power Revolution in 2001 that ousted President Joseph Estrada.
“I assure you, his (Cardinal Sin) spirit will live on. The EDSA spirit continues,” Sescon said to his ordaining prelate, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who is also a former private secretary to the late cardinal and a former bishop of Balanga.
Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, in his homily, described Sescon’s ordination during the EDSA anniversary as “destiny” and a “divine design.”
“We cannot retell our story as a people without the EDSA people power of 1986 and our history as a Catholic nation, without the voice of EDSA, Jaime Cardinal Sin,” Advincula said.
“Indeed, we are standing as grateful and proud descendants of heroes and witnesses. It is our holy pride. We are proud of this heritage.”
He urged Sescon to embody grace on his journey as new Balanga bishop.
“Fr. Jun did his mission as a priest, friend, and teacher, basking on nothing else but the grace of God,” Advincula said. “Grace! That is what Father Jun has been. That is what Father Jun has always given – grace. That is what Father Jun has always preached – everything is grace; every moment is grace.”
Sescon, also the former rector of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church, chose “Gratia” (Latin for grace) as his episcopal motto.
He will be the fifth bishop of Balanga and will be in charge of almost 700,000 Catholics in the diocese.
He was ordained priest on Sept. 19, 1998 for the Archdiocese of Manila.
As a diocesan cleric, Sescon professed to the Priestly Fraternities of St. Dominic on Sept. 28, 2020, at Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.
Sescon was appointed bishop by Pope Francis in December last year.
