New Boac bishop vows synodal leadership at ordination

Bishop Edwin Panergo of Boac was ordained to the episcopate Monday, choosing synodality as his guiding light while embracing a new and demanding role in Church leadership.

Speaking for the first time as bishop, he said his motto “Synodus” reflects a lifelong conviction. “I have already experienced synodality in my life,” he told the congregation.

He said true synodality goes beyond companionship, explaining it is “not just about friendship” but a path “leading to Christ,” like grapes that bear fruit only when connected to the vine.

Using the image of pruning, he recalled learning the method in France, which requires careful cutting, balance, and discernment to allow healthy growth and maintain a manageable vineyard.

In pastoral discernment, he said decisions must follow four criteria: “God-centered, human-centered, creation-friendly, and Church-serving,” ensuring that synodality respects faith, community, creation, and the mission of the Church.

“People of Boac, let us journey together. I cannot do the discernment alone,” Panergo said, his voice breaking, emphasizing that synodality is a shared responsibility of the whole community.

He added that synodality also requires shared sacrifice. “It is not only the priest who must sacrifice, but all of us,” he said, likening it to pressing grapes for wine.

“Synodality is not true synodality if only the leader sacrifices. It is real when we all sacrifice together,” he said.

Panergo was ordained at St. Ferdinand Cathedral in Lucena City, attended by bishops, clergy, religious, and laypeople from Quezon, Marinduque, and neighboring dioceses for the historic ceremony.

The 54-year-old was ordained bishop by Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, as principal consecrator, with Bishop Mel Rey Uy of Lucena and retired Bishop Emilio Marquez as co-consecrators.

In his homily, Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit of San Pablo, Panergo’s predecessor in Boac, called the synodal way a “true blessing” for learning first to listen to God and each other.

“It truly makes the life of a bishop much easier if we could journey with our people, with our brother priests – when we learn to listen to them, when we learn from their wisdom, when we are inspired by their passion and by their commitment to service,” Maralit said.

Panergo is the eighth priest from the Lucena diocese elevated to the College of Bishops, marking a milestone for the local Church as it currently celebrates its 75th founding anniversary.

He will be formally installed as the fifth bishop of Boac during Mass at the diocese’s Immaculate Conception Cathedral at 9 a.m. on Dec. 2. (CBCP News)

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