ASIDE from a cardinal, two priests were appointed to represent Pope Francis during the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu City from Jan. 24 to 31.
Fr. Dominic Bar Bu, secretary of the Archdiocesan Office of Yangon and Cebuano priest Fr. Marvin Mejia were named part of the Pontifical Mission led by Archbishop Charles Maung Cardinal Bo of Yangon, Myanmar.
Bo was earlier designated as “papal legate” to the congress which is expected to draw at least 12,000 delegates from around the world. Since he can’t attend the event, Pope Francis sent Bo and the two other priests in his stead.
Mejia is currently the secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
According to the Ang Bag-ong Lungsoranon, the official newsletter of the Cebu Archdiocese, the appointment of Mejia and Bu was signed by the Holy See July last year but was only made public recently.
As part of the Pontifical Mission, Bu and Mejia will assist Cardinal Bo during the congress. Popes don’t usually attend the IEC which takes place every four years.
So far, some 10,000 delegates, including 3,000 foreigners, have registered for the 51st IEC in Cebu City.