City officials recently welcomed Most Reverend Rafael T. Cruz as the 3rd Bishop of the Diocese of Baguio.
Under Resolution No. 510, series of 2024, local legislators stated that the local government and its officialdom express support to Most Reverend Cruz and it is but proper to welcome him as the newest member of the city’s family.
Cruz was born on March 12, 1960 at Mapandan, Pangasinan and is currently the parish priest of St. Ildephonse Parish in Poblacion, Malasiqui, Pangasinan.
He studied philosophy at the San Pablo Regional College Seminary in Baguio City and completed his theological studies at the Immaculate Concepcion School of Theology in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur.
Further, he obtained a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and a Doctorate in Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University.
Cruz was ordained as a priest in September 1985 and was the parish priest of St. Peter and St. Paul in Calasiao, Pangasinan from 1985 to 1987.
He was also a visiting professor at the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City in 1999 to 2004, a spiritual director and psychologist advisor for seminarians in Batanes and a teacher at the Center for Family Ministries at the Ateneo de Manila University in 2004.
From 2011 to 2018, Cruz was a spiritual director and teacher at the Mary Help of Christians High School Seminary in Binmaley, Pangasinan and the Mary Health of Christians College Seminary in Dagupan City.
Since 2022, he has been a member of the Permanent Committee for the Protection of Minors of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Poe Francis appointed Cruz as the 3rd Bishop of the Diocese of Baguio on June 20, 2024 succeeding Monsignor Victor Bendico.
Cruz will be officially consecrated as the Bishop of Baguio on September 7, 2024 at the Our Lady of Atonement or Baguio Cathedral.
The council stipulated that with his wealth of pastoral experience, Cruz has committed to serving the people of Baguio and has accepted the challenge to build spiritual communities in the Diocese of Baguio and Benguet. By Dexter A. See
