• ANDREW ALTAREJOS

The Diocese of Bacolod celebrated the Solemnity of the Feast of St. Sebastian, its Patron Saint, Monday, with a Eucharistic celebration in the morning at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City.
This year’s fiesta theme is “Missionaries of Hope: Journeying together with St. Sebastian towards Holiness.”
Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon presided over the fiesta mass in honor of St. Sebastian, together with Vicar General and San Sebastian Cathedral rector Msgr. Ronald Quijano, Sacred Heart Seminary rector Rev. Ruel Jundos and Fr. Narciso Gregori Gayares VII. About 50 religious and diocesan priests, along with Bishop Emeritus Vicente Navarra, also joined the Eucharistic celebration.
Also present during mass were La Castellana Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan and former Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
Bishop Buzon led the blessing of the newly repaired and enhanced sanctuary of the San Sebastian Cathedral which was finished timely on this year’s feastday of St. Sebastian. The sanctuary and interiors of the Cathedral had undergone repairs and enhancements for almost a year after the Diocese celebrated its 90th Anniversary in 2023.


Buzon in his homily, pointed out three things. “To share my deep gratitude to God, for the extraordinary grace we have received this year, particularly our Diocese because of the Jubilee year.”
“Thank God for this great gift of the beautiful Cathedral we have, and the highlighting of the deeper significance of what a Cathedral is in the context of the Jubilee year.”
“An earnest appeal to all our people even to the smallest children that we really can find an expression being a synodal church, one body of Christ, all being part of it, all in communion and together in journeying on mission, and together everyone participating in this mission,” Buzon said.
After the bishop’s homily, the deposition of the sacred relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. John Paul II, St. Vincent Pallotti, St. John Baptist de La Salle, St. Maria Goretti, and St. Ezekiel Moreno were conducted at the main altar of the Cathedral.
Quijano, in his speech, said that “the upgrading of our iconic cathedral, which is the symbol of our vibrant Catholic faith and the mother church of all Negrenses, is indeed a gift of love, expressing his gratitude to Olivia Villaflores-Yanson for the wonderful legacy of love she has shared to the Diocese of Bacolod.”


He also thanked the different religious congregations who had their foundational sacred relics donated to the Cathedral namely, the Carmelites Monastery, De La Salle brothers, Community of the Pallotti Missionaries, Order of Augustinian-Recollect and Monastery of St. Ezekiel Moreno.
Bishop Buzon presented the plaque of gratitude and tokens to Olivia Villaflores-Yanson, Leo Rey Yanson, Charles and Ginnette Yanson-Dumancas, William and Ana Sy for their generous donations to the Cathedral.
Ginnette Yanson-Dumancas, in her speech, said it was a day of gratitude and celebration – a day to give thanks for the abundant blessings that God has entrusted to us.“On behalf of my mother, Olivia, and our family, I want to humbly thank the Church for allowing us to serve God through this meaningful project.”
“This offering is a labor of love, inspired by my mother affectionately called ‘mommy love’ who celebrated her 90th birthday last year, which is the same year the Diocese marked its 90th Anniversary also,” she noted.
Yanson-Dumancas also thanked on behalf of her family, Buzon for his vision and approval of the project, and Quijano and Gayares for inviting her family to take part in this beautiful mission.
A candlelight procession in the evening was joined by seminarians, parishioners, lay association and ministries, government employees, and students with the image of St. Sebastian along the streets in the downtown area, which capped the fiesta celebration of the Patron Saint of the Diocese.*