Philippines’s oldest bishop turns 94

MANILA, Philippines — Archbishop Emeritus Pedro Dean of Palo, Leyte, the oldest Filipino bishop, turned 94 on Feb. 21.

The CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, reported that Dean’s birthday was marked with a mass.

Dean presided over the mass held at the St. John the Evangelist School of Theology (SJEST), the theological institution he founded 35 years ago in Palo town.

“Today, I have completed 94 years of age, and tomorrow I will be starting my 95th year, which I doubt if I can complete due to advanced age and poor health,” Dean said in his homily.

Dean was born on Feb. 21, 1930 in Calbayog City in Samar province. He is one of the last Filipino bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI, who has been declared a saint.

For more than six decades, Deans celebrated masses throughout his ministry: 67 years as priest and 46 years in the episcopate.

He concelebrated last Wednesday’s mass with Archbishop John Du of Palo, Bishop Oscar Florencio of the Military Ordinariate and Bishop Rex Ramirez of Naval, Biliran.

Florencio was the former rector of SJEST, while Ramirez was a former formator.

The celebration coincided with the 23rd alumni homecoming of the seminary, which traditionally holds the event to coincide with Dean’s birthday.