MANILA, Oct. 27, 2014— Pope Francis has appointed Manila Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez as the new Bishop of the Prelature of Infanta in Quezon province. The appointment was announced at 12 noon in Rome (7pm, Manila time) on Monday, October 27. Cortez will succeed Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona as the fourth bishop of Infanta. The diocese was left vacant since November 2012, when then Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona was named Archbishop of Nueva Caceres. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle congratulated Cortez as he responds to his new mission. “With our well wishes comes our thanksgiving,” he said. The 65-year old prelate was a former a priest of the Diocese of San Pablo in Laguna where he was ordained in June 1974. In May 2004, Saint John Paul II appointed him as Auxiliary Bishop of Manila where he served for ten years now. “He has testified to the need for prayerfulness and a profound respect for the conditions and sensibilities of human persons in pastoral life. We are grateful to Bishop Bernard for having served wholeheartedly the faithful, priests, religious, and seminarians of the Archdiocese of Manila,” Tagle said. The cardinal also called on the faithful to pray for Cortez and his ministry. “Let us also pray for the Prelature of Infanta as it continues to respond to numerous pastoral challenges, especially those related to authentic human development, the situation of indigenous peoples, and stewardship of creation,” he added. As bishop of Infanta, Cortez will administer an ecclesiastical jurisdiction with almost half-a-million population, 87 percent of which are Catholics from 20 parishes. (CBCPNews)