Rufino Coronel Sescon Jr.
Rufino Coronel Sescon Jr. was born April 20, 1972, in Manila; the day rests on Wikipedia alone, Malaya corroborating only April 1972. A professed member of the Dominican Order, he is an alumnus of Colegio de San Juan de Letran and studied philosophy and theology at San Carlos Seminary, where Wikipedia reports master’s degrees in both disciplines. He was ordained to the diaconate on March 21, 1998, by Cardinal Jaime Sin (Wikipedia only), and ordained a priest in September 1998 by Cardinal Sin; the day September 19 is Wikipedia only. A motto of “Gratia” appears on Wikipedia only and is not shipped here.
His posts included personal secretary to Cardinal Sin; chancellor of the Archdiocese of Manila (2008-2015); administrator of the Archbishop’s Palace (Villa San Miguel); chaplain of Greenbelt Chapel; priest-in-charge of Mary, Mother of Hope Chapel at Landmark; commissioner for the Formation of the Laity and Christian Communities; director of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Lay Formation Center; member of the Presbyteral Council; and executive director of the Catholic Mass Media Awards. From 2022 to 2025 he was parish priest and rector of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno (Quiapo Church) in Manila, which achieved national shrine status in 2023 during his rectorship.
Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Balanga on December 3, 2024, succeeding Ruperto Santos, who had been transferred to Antipolo in July 2023; Balanga had been without a bishop since then, with Florentino Lavarias, Archbishop of San Fernando, as apostolic administrator (Wikipedia). He was ordained a bishop on February 25, 2025, at the Manila Cathedral, with Archbishop Socrates Villegas as principal consecrator, Ruperto Santos and Honesto Ongtioco as co-consecrators, and Cardinal Advincula as homilist; he chose the EDSA anniversary date as a “form of prayer for generosity” to “never forget” the spirit of the peaceful uprising. He was installed as the fifth Bishop of Balanga on March 1, 2025, at the Cathedral Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph in Balanga City, with Nuncio Charles Brown seating him on the cathedra, in the presence of more than 20 bishops. His four predecessors were Celso Guevarra, Ongtioco, Villegas, and Ruperto Santos.
No decree, permission, suppression, expansion, or transfer of the Traditional Latin Mass by Bishop Sescon in Balanga was found in the searches listed.
His public record as bishop, from March 2025, is the installation, the Francis tribute, a shrine elevation, the Traslacion Misa Mayor, the PCNE youth homily, and the Nazareno conference keynote, none of which is a liturgical act concerning the Traditional Latin Mass.