“We know that our liturgies—especially the Eucharist—are a foretaste of heaven on earth, I cannot think of a better foretaste of heaven than this.” – Bishop Alex D. Aclan, Auxiliary Bishop for the San Fernando Region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
“This ordination is such a witness of our faith in God and joy of spirit. I hope this spiritual experience gives hope and encouragement, especially to those in need of comfort and strength.” – Mary Jolisa Lazaro, Sister of Notre Dame representing Provincial Sister Anncarla, 2019
Gray skies greeted us on the morning of May 16. Rains kept coming down, strong enough to give cars a good bath and to wash off the streets’ grime and dirt. A silent prayer was offered that the sun comes out, while thinking of the thousands expected to attend. The gray skies were gone in an hour and the warm sun with blue skies appeared. It set the tone for over three thousand who attended the episcopal ordination.
The last ordination we attended was that of Bishop Oscar Solis in 2004. We were seated at the front row, courtesy of Fritz Friedman’s invitation. That ordination brought in a New Orleans’ contingent of well-dressed women, complete with their fascinators and lots of tears, sacredness and some laughter, as Bishop Solis has a comfort and confidence to put his audience at ease.
Fast forward to 2019, Msgr. Lorenzo Miranda warmly greeted me, who in his generosity of spirit, sat and kept me company. “I like this weather, cool enough for us to feel comfortable,” he said, while we waited 1-½ hours before the ordination at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels. I shared a copy of the article I wrote for the Balikbayan Magazine, “Harvesting Miracles in the Holy Land.” He gave the article a quick read and synthesized the themes: ecumenism, unity, solidarity, and miracles, and said that it would be a good gift for the new bishop.
“That is a lot to write about, given these days of moral mediocrity,” he said. “We are in a fractured and divided world.”
“Yes, Msgr, and humanity, solidarity and love are the life themes I go by these days.
He affirmed that is what we need and lamented the surge in homelessness in Los Angeles, while over 48,500 storage facilities are built in the U.S., for the commodities we do not use and now are put away. “Why not house these folks?”
Close to a dozen stopped to say hi to Msgr., including a priest who went inside the café, and thoughtfully got him a cup of coffee. “Look at what he did, and with a big smile.”
Beth, an elderly woman dressed in her barong Tagalog, also greeted Msgr. Lorenzo and she shared spontaneously, “Fr. Alex healed me.” She got sick while on a trip to Italy and was hospitalized. Unable to speak the language, she kept praying. Lo and behold, a friend of a friend showed up with a priest who lives in Rome, who translated for her. When Beth was well enough to travel, she flew back to LA to seek health care. “Fr. Aclan came to visit me. I was healed by him,” she declared, “That is how good he is.”
I heard many more stories of Bishop Aclan’s goodness, while we were waiting to have our photos with him, after the ordination. The line snaked almost the entire circumference of the plaza, with winds quite vigorous. I told Bishop Aclan that even the Holy Spirit must be happy with his ordination, as to have these strong winds with us this afternoon, including an abrupt change in the weather. To the atheist, that will be dismissed as changing weather patterns.
The ordination at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels
I was moved to see Bishop Aclan walking by himself, in his full regalia as a bishop, and sat in his bishop’s chair, an altar decorated with white phalaenopsis orchids, in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio Most Reverend Christophe Pierre, a representative of Pope Francis, and followed by the principal ordaining bishop, Most Reverend Jose H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles and two co-ordaining bishops: His Eminence Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles and Most Reverend Oscar Solis, Bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah. I actually cried, realizing I have witnessed two Filipino priests, born in the Philippines, now both ordained as bishops of Los Angeles.
Apostolic Nuncio Pierre spoke that Aclan is now being ordained to the office of Bishops, to the full stature of Christ, his chosen journey, and to serve many, an appointment letter signed by Pope Francis, to which was written: “Having grown in the Philippines, you know about change. Help us serve the local church of Los Angeles.”
“‘I know that you wanted a nice, quiet sabbatical, but the Holy Father has called you to something great in the service of the Church. Now, God is calling you to something heroic, to preach his Gospel and and lift the burdens of his people,’ the nuncio told Aclan. ‘These days everyone wants to see the Avengers movie. I suppose we could speculate about your superhero name, but there can be no question about your superpower, the power of prayer,’” Pablo Kay of Angelus News quoted Pierre on May 16, 2019.
It was a very endearing moment when Bishop Aclan shared the copy of Pope Francis’ appointment letter with the VIP – seated section of the crowd, as part of the 3,000 plus gathered inside the Cathedral. The tapestries hung inside, without designations of saints, that to the ordinary visitors, Sister Jolisa teaches her students, simply represented, “humanity in all its colors,” the diversity of Los Angeles.
Archbishop Gomez jokingly said that Aclan should show the appointment letter to the back – that’s where your fans are. Gomez welcomed him to the College of Bishops and summoned that “by your holy life be a true witness of God.”
He said, “My brother, Jesus reminds you today in the Gospel that as a bishop – you are not a ‘lord,’ but a servant, you are not a ‘master’, but a father. As a bishop, you need to let Jesus be your only teacher. Grow deeper in the heart of Jesus so his heart becomes yours, not only for you but for others, in humility and in loving service.”
Gomez called for a conversion of hearts to Jesus, reminding us, “The Church does not belong to any of us. It belongs to God.”
Each of the 17 bishops, dressed in their capes and mitre or diadem placed their hands on Aclan’s head and offered their blessings on him.
In the side of the altar, to the left, were seated hundreds of Catholic priests. We recognized our pastor Fr. Rolly Clarin, past pastor Fr. Rodel Balagtas, Fr. Freddie Chua, Fr. Joy Lawrence Santos and Fr. Raymond Decipeda.
To the right of the altar were deacons, accompanied by their wives, and in the front: two Greek Orthodox priests, one of whom is Most Reverend Fr. Alexei Smith.
Eleven years ago, I prayed to God that my column, Rhizomes, which is published weekly on Saturday in Los Angeles, be a witness to transformation. I prayed to witness Pope Francis’ visit the U.S. in the White House under then 44th U.S. President Barack Obama’s tenure. I was so humbled when my prayers were answered.
I am now witnessing another transformation of a pastor, a parish priest in Aclan, whom I interviewed in St. Madeleine Catholic Church in Pomona, who was forthright in sharing about the victim of a gang shooting, comforting the family of a three year old, Ethan Esparza, then surrounded by white flowers and photographs, and said: “We leave Ethan in the hands of the Lord,” in Spanish. Years later, he was promoted to Vicar General and now, a Bishop.
Speaking fluidly in English, Tagalog and Spanish, Fr. Aclan served as St. Finbar’s associate priest where he started a Filipino ministry. Striving to learn from Fr. Aclan’s systems-oriented, clear thinking, I asked how he formed the ministry. “First, identify the leaders. Organize a get-together, and assign them. The key is to involve them in the parish for invariably, their talents would be found and they will like being in the ministry. Their various tasks included giving sacraments, going to the choir, doing the apostolic work amongst the poor, the sick and doing door-to-door visitation amongst the parishioners.”
Aclan also became one of the vocation directors of the Archdiocese while in residence at the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with teenagers as his primary target group. He then became the Associate Pastor of St. John of God in Norwalk and organized the Filipino ministry, including a bereavement ministry to support the beginning experiences for the widows, widowers and a Respect Life group. He was the spiritual director of the Filipino Cursillo Group in 2009-2010 and served for five years as the Archdiocesan Liaison for Filipino Charismatic groups.
It is what Msgr. Miranda referred to as “building the spirit of the Church.”
Fr. Rodel Balagtas, the incoming parish priest of the Incarnation Church in Glendale and outgoing faculty of St. John’s Seminary and its commencement speaker in their 2019 graduation, had this to say, “ A good, wise, and prayerful man! I like that he could not hold his tears upon thanking Mama Mary during his speech. I could identify with his sentiment; He has learned to be more open, understanding and “real” as he ministers to people. And yet, he challenges people too to be faithful to the Gospel. He’s fun to travel with—lots of humor and playfulness. You never get bored with his stories. He’s an excellent steward of financial resources. He spends wisely and saves. His “humanness” comes from the facts that he enjoys seeing movies and going out to eat. He loves working in the yard. He takes care of his health. He is very organized and clean with his work. He’s a hardworking priest!”
Bishop Joe Brennan wrote, “The good news is that my successor, Msgr. Bishop-elect Alex Aclan is wonderful and will guide this Region of San Fernando in the most beautiful and pastoral way imaginable.”
The genesis of his priesthood
It was two years ago when I interviewed the Bishop, then the Vicar for Clergy of the Archdiocese of LA for a feature article. I still recall what he said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. (John 10:27-30). It’s important to think of Jesus’ message—it is a voice [there are] lots of voices around us, learn to identify Jesus’ voice amidst all the voices we hear in our lives. A voice comes as personal, warm, it is comforting and it is not cold.”
When we got to a natural end of the interview at a pizza place, near Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles, I asked Fr. Aclan what makes him realize God exceeds science. His response was persuasive: “It is the experience. I cannot show empirical data. I know what I am feeling is authentic, it is true.”
After all, he was a tenured instructor at the University of Santo Tomas for the sciences: chemistry, botany, physiology, hematology and microbiology. Then, a computer programmer at Meralco, a power utility company, and later a systems manager. He moved to Summa Computers, FNCB Finance and San Miguel Corporation, the biggest manufacturer of beer in the Philippines. When he got to the U.S., he worked as a systems analyst at Union Bank and two years later, a systems manager overseeing six employees and a budget of $1,000,000.
He became a priest at age 42, and pursued his Master’s of Divinity at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. He got ordained as a priest in 1993 by Cardinal Roger Mahony, who was present as co-ordaining bishop as Bishop Oscar Solis and Archbishop Jose Gomez.
“Bishop Aclan reflects on how those previous professions were there for a purpose, I once thought I would be a physical doctor, a doctor of the body, and I’ve ended up a doctor of the soul. In computer programming, I now see that it was God’s way of teaching me administration—preparing job descriptions, interviewing candidates, finding the right people. This is one of the important demands of a priest today,“ as his episcopal ordination booklet reads.
I still recall the story that he shared with me, looking for a priest who spoke Japanese for St. Francis Xavier Chapel–Japanese Catholic Center. He was at a loss as to where to find this priest. “We did not know what to do. Miraculously, in less than a week after the need arose, a visiting priest, who had permission from his religious community to propagate the devotion to the Sacred Heart, came to our office to offer his services, and this priest whose first language [Vietnamese] was different happened to have done his theological studies in the second language [Japanese] that we needed for this parish. He did not only speak Japanese, he reads and writes it as well. That became my “Oh my God’ moment!”
His motto, “One Body – One Spirit has been both a personal philosophy of life and a family dictum, and sometimes even a cry for battle. But in Church heraldry, a prelate’s personal motto has always been intended to represent his personal spirituality and theologically based philosophy of life and is most grounded in Sacred Scripture and spiritual reflection. It comes from the Ephesians 4:4:” With all humility and gentleness, and with patience, support each other in love. Take every care to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as God and Father of all, over all, through all and within all.”
“The bishop’s entire coat of arms is grounded in this particular dictum and so it is most appropriate that the motto that he has chosen likewise forms the theme for his overall coat of arms design. Upon the banderole (motto ribbon) appears the emblem taken from the Philippine flag. This is an official homage to the bishop’s homeland. Catholic heraldic rubrics forbid the inclusion of political emblems within the shield itself. And so here on the banderole, the Filipino emblem of national pride has been placed. The designers deliberately placed it so that it falls in a direct line with the blue stone in the cross above symbolizing California, his chosen home the former and the present in line symmetrically.
“The main portion…in its design is found perfection both as a whole and as three separate unique parts, in the same way that the Triune God is absolutely perfect as a whole and also when separated into our understanding of the Trinity’s three distinct Persons. God is the metal reserved in Catholic heraldry to represent purity and the divinity and the perfection of God and so it was specifically selected for this special Trinitarian emblem,” the ordination booklet reads.
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 10 years. She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the U.S., in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.
