Pope Francis names another Pinoy bishop in US

Pope Francis on Friday appointed appointed three new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including a priest of Filipino descent.

Fr. Efren Esmilla, who was born in Laguna province’s Nagcarlan town, joins priests Keith Chylinski and Christopher Cooke as auxiliary bishops to serve the archdiocese’s approximately 1.5 million Catholics.

The thee will join Archbishop Nelson Perez and Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre, who has served in that capacity since 2010.

In a press conference, the bishop-elect said he was “greatly humbled and honored” by the appointment.

“I ask all of the clergy, men and women religious, and lay faithful our beloved local Church to pray for me while knowing that I will pray for all of you so that I can see how to serve you best,” Esmilla said.

“My great hope is that our beloved Archdiocese of Philadelphia will continue to grow spiritually and to grow in the number of souls as we all strive to be better missionary disciples for Jesus Christ in the world around us,” he said.

Archbishop Perez said the new bishops “are men of deep faith, great humility, broad pastoral as well as administrative experience, and zealous hearts that on fire to serve as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ”.

“I’ve known all of them for many years and have witnessed the transformational impact of their priestly ministry on a diverse array of people everywhere they have served,” he said.

Before immigrating to the US, Esmilla completed a college degree at San Beda University in Manila in 1984.

The 61-year old took his priestly formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, where he also earned a master of divinity in 1992.

On May 15, 1993, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Philadelphia archdiocese by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

He previously served as parochial vicar at St. John Chrysostom in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and at the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Philadelphia. He also served as assistant director of pastoral formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

Since 2021, he has served as the pastor of St. James in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. According to the parish’s website, Esmilla has also been the chaplain to the Filipino Apostolate and the spiritual director to the Legion of Mary.

Esmilla is the fourth Filipino to be named bishop in the US. The others are Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City, Auxiliary Bishop Alejandro Aclan of Los Angeles, and Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino of El Paso-Texas. (CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published by CBCP News.