Malolos welcomes 3 new priests

Three deacons from the Diocese of Malolos were ordained priests on March 20, Tuesday.

Reverends Niño Jomel Halili De Leon, Joseph Franz Torres Dizon, and Rex Andrian Espera Polintan were ordained by Malolos Bishop Jose Francisco Oliveros at the Immaculate Conception Parish – Cathedral and Minor Basilica in Malolos City in a concelebrated Mass at 9:00 a.m. with Kalookan Bishop Emeritus Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr., Iba Bishop-Elect Bartolome G. Santos, Jr., and the Malolos clergy present.

“We entrust everything to God for all the graces we have received. Despite being sinners ourselves, we have been given this remarkable task to become shepherds of the Church. That is why we ardently need your prayers,” said Dizon in a message thanking everyone who have become part of their journey to the priesthood – families, friends, benefactors, formators, and brothers in the seminary community.

Sons of Bulacan

The three deacons all graduated from the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary in Guiguinto, Bulacan. De Leon hails from Sta. Maria town in Bulacan and now currently belongs to the St. Joseph the Worker Parish in the town of Balagtas. Originally from Obando, Dizon is from the St. Paschal Baylon Parish – Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora dela Immaculada Concepcion de Salambao. Polintan, on the other hand, is from Veinte Reales, Valenzuela City and currently belongs to Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Heritage Homes in Marilao. Both De Leon and Polintan are graduates of the high school department of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, finishing more than a decade of seminary formation.

The community of the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary, the seminary high school department, their respective families, friends, guests and co-workers in the various apostolate areas they have served in attended the event.

Serving the marginalized

As deacons, they assisted three homes for the marginalized in the diocese: the Bethlehem House of Bread (for orphans) in Baliuag town and Galilee Home (for drug dependents) in Doña Remedios Trinidad town, both under the Diocese, and the Hospicio de San Juan de Dios (for the mentally challenged) in Bocaue town, under the Brothers of Mercy of St. John of God.

As part of their commitment to serve these communities, a second collection was made in support of the programs these houses of apostolate are continuously providing for the needy.

From March 24 to June 2018, De Leon will be assigned as parochial vicar of the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela City; Dizon will be the parochial vicar of St. Augustine in Baliuag; and Polintan is tasked to be parochial vicar of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Lias, Marilao.

After these assignments, the three priests shall formally be admitted to the diocesan neo-presbyteral program wherein they will be assigned by the bishop to three communities during their first year in the priesthood.

With the three newly-ordained priests, the Diocese of Malolos now has 210 clerics serving in 108 parishes covering the province of Bulacan and the city of Valenzuela in Metro Manila.