Cáceres archdiocese celebrates 75 years as Catholic heart of Bicol

By Norman Dequia/CBCP News

NAGA City — The Archdiocese of Cáceres marked its 75th anniversary Sept. 17 with a call for Catholics to renew the Church by recognizing that every member has a vital role.

Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, described the Church as a shared journey in which no one is excluded or considered unnecessary.

“The idea of a procession gives us a visual image of what the Church is in her nature: people walking together,” Brown said during the anniversary Mass at Naga Metropolitan Cathedral compound.

“No one is unnecessary. No one is useless. Everyone is valued,” he said.

The Mass also concluded the Union of Bicol Clergy gathering and marked the seventh day of the novena to Our Lady of Peñafrancia, whose devotion is central to Catholic life in Bicol.

Brown compared the Church to a caravan moving toward a common destination, an image reflected in the annual Peñafrancia processions.

He said the Church’s journey involves the entire People of God, including lay Catholics, families, priests and bishops.

Brown particularly highlighted parents as key to passing the Catholic faith to younger generations.

“For passing the faith on to the next generation, who is the most important person? It’s not the Nuncio, believe me,” Brown said. “It’s the mother and father of the children. They are the most important people in passing the faith on.”

Addressing Bicol clergy, Brown said priests have a central responsibility to bring Christ to the faithful through the Eucharist.

“The fundamental point of the priesthood is what? It’s to bring the Eucharist to God’s people,” he said.

Brown also urged Catholics to look to the saints and earlier generations when considering how to renew the Church.

“When we want to think about how to renew the Church, how to reform the Church, we need to walk in the footsteps of the saints,” he said.

The Diocese of Nueva Cáceres was established in 1595 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1951 by Pope Pius XII, with the dioceses of Legazpi and Sorsogon as its suffragans.

The archdiocese remains a major Catholic center in Bicol, with devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia at the heart of its religious life.

Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles John Brown, celebrates the mass for the Inter-Diocesan celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Archdiocese of Caceres as a Metropolitan See, Sept 17, at the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral. (Photos from CCCom Media/Archdiocese of Caceres/Facebook)

Brown also attended the closing program of the Union of Bicol Clergy, an annual gathering of priests across the Bicol region. (Photos from CCCom Media/Archdiocese of Caceres/Facebook)