Pope Francis appoints Filipino priest as bishop in California

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino priest in the United States of America was appointed by Pope Francis as an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Sacramento, California on Saturday.

In the announcement of the Holy See, Father Reynaldo Bersabal, the parish priest of Saint Francis of Assisi in Sacramento, will accompany Bishop Jaime Soto and Bishop Emeritus William Weigand in overseeing the diocese.

“The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Reynaldo Bersabal, of the clergy of the diocese of Sacramento, United States of America, until now parish priest of Saint Francis of Assisi in Sacramento, as auxiliary bishop of the same diocese, assigning him the titular see of Balecio,” the Holy See announced.

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Bersabal, 59, was born in Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental.

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He was ordained to the priesthood in April 1991 in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, with which he served as a parochial vicar in the Our Lady of Snows in 1991, parish administrator in the Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1992, parish priest in Saint Francis Xavier in 1995, and diocese chancellor in 1998.

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In addition, Bersabal was then incardinated to the Diocese of Sacramento in 2004, where he served as parochial vicar in the Saint James in Davis and Saint Anthony in Sacramento; and parish priest in Saint Paul in Sacramento, Saint John the Baptist in Folsom, Saint James in Davis, and Saint Francis of Assisi in Sacramento.

Bersabal is the fifth bishop appointed in the United States.