Caceres Archbishop celebrates 25th Anniversary as Bishop

NAGA CITY – In a simple Pontifical Concelebrated Thanksgiving Mass attended by his brother Bishops from the Bicol Region; and the priests, religious, and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Caceres, Archbishop Rolando J. Tria Tirona, OCD, DD celebrated his Silver Episcopal Ordination Anniversary on Sunday, 29 December 2019, at the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, this City.

In His Homily, Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas, DD, Archbishop of Linggayen-Dagupan pondered on Archbishop Tria Tirona’s Episcopal Motto, Christi Sumus or ‘we belong to Christ.’ Addressing the faithful, Villegas exhorted that “there is something more important than the question ‘Who are you?, and that question that is more important is: To whom do you belong? Who’s are you? Because the one to whom you belong give you your identity. And Bishop Roly has the answer: Christi Sumus. We are Christ’s. We belong to Christ. Our identity is to belong to Him; because separated with Him, we are nothing.”

The Archbishop Rolando J. Tria Tirona, OCD, DD was ordained Bishop on 29 December 1994 by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin. Since then, he served as Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, Bishop of Malolos, Prelate of Infanta, and since 2012, the 34th Bishop and 4th Metropolitan Archbishop of Caceres. Known as a caring pastor who serves the Lord’s flock with joy, promotes prayer and spirituality.

He also gives special attention to the least privileged, and emphasizes spiritual intimacy and support for schools and children. As such, the Archbishop dedicated the celebration of his 25th year as Bishop to the increase of vocations, and to the support of quality education of seminarians in the Archdiocese. As such, the Archdiocese conducted a Fund Drive for scholarship of seminarians in the Holy Rosary Minor and Major Seminaries, through donations which were offered during the Thanksgiving Mass, and through the Testimonial Dinner which followed at the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary Covered Courts.