Installation of 4th Dumaguete bishop set Cardinal Tagle, 40 bishops, 300 priests to attend

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines - — At least 40 archbishops and bishops and at least 300 priests from various dioceses in the country have confirmed their attendance on December 5 for the liturgical reception and canonical installation of Most Rev. Julito Cortes as the 4th bishop of the Diocese of Dumaguete.

The Diocese of Dumaguete covers the towns and cities of Negros Oriental from Basay in the south to Jimalalud in the north and the entire island-province of Siquijor.

Last September 28, Pope Francis I appointed Cortes, former auxiliary bishop of Cebu, as the new prelate of the Dumaguete Diocese more than a year after its Bishop John Du was named archbishop of the Palo Archdiocese in Leyte in May 2012.

Monsignor Gamaliel Tulabing, Dumaguete diocesan administrator, said the liturgical reception and canonical installation will be held at 9 a.m. at the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral in this city, with Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal as the homilist.

Tulabing said that, aside from at least 80 members of the local clergy, more than 100 priests from neighboring dioceses, with majority coming from Cebu, are expected to attend the ceremony.

Expected to attend are Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, representing Pope Francis I, Archbishops Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of Manila, Angel Lagdameo of Jaro in Iloilo, Du of Palo and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

On December 4, Cortes will arrive at the Sibulan wharf with a send-off party from the Archdiocese of Cebu. He will then proceed to the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, the seat of the diocese, where he will make his first official address as the new Dumaguete bishop after the praying of the Angelus and the singing of the Salve Regina for the international pilgrim image of the Our Lady of Fatima of Portugal.

A testimonial dinner is scheduled on the same day, with Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, Siquijor Gov. Zaldy Villa and Dumaguete Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria leading at least 800 dignitaries and guests.

The image of the Our Lady of Fatima of Portugal is scheduled to visit the Dumaguete Diocese from December 3 to 5, just in time for the canonical installation of Bishop Cortes. On December 3, the international pilgrim image will arrive at the Dumaguete airport from Cebu at around 6:55 a.m. and will travel directly to the Carmelite Monastery in Sibulan town.

The visit of the image to the Philippines to at least 41 dioceses, starting in mid-September, comes at a time when the Catholic Church ended its observance of the Year of Faith Sunday. 

Monsignor Julius Perpetuo Heruela, rector of the Cathedral parish of the Diocese of Dumaguete, said the pilgrim image will be visiting schools and churches in the city. "The bishop (Cortes) will consecrate the Diocese of Dumaguete to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during his liturgical reception. We are so lucky that we are one of the dioceses in the Philippines to be visited by the Our Lady of Fatima pilgrim image," he added.

The pilgrim image will be transferred to the St. Paul University-Dumaguete and later to the Negros Oriental State University where it will stay for three hours each before going to the Redemptorist Church at 5 p.m. for an overnight vigil.

The following day, the Our Lady of Fatima of Portugal image will be transferred to the Cathedral to wait for the arrival of Cortes from Cebu. In the afternoon, the icon will be brought to the SLS-Don Bosco School and later to the to the Immaculate Parish for the evening vigil.

On December 5, the world-famous image will once again be transferred to the Cathedral for the liturgical reception and canonical installation of Cortes.

The Our Lady of Fatima of Portugal image was in Eastern Samar on pilgrimage in early November when the killer storm Yolanda devastated many parts of the Visayas, left thousands dead and many more missing as well as thousands of homeless people and families. It has traveled around the world many times to bring the message of hope.  (FREEMAN)