Caceres Archbishop Emeritus celebrates 30th Episcopal Anniversary

By Natalie Hazel Quimlat, MD

NAGA CITY --- Carmelite prelate and Caceres Archbishop Emeritus Rolando Tria Tirona marked his 30th year as a Bishop last December 29, Feast of the Holy Family. In his homily, during the eucharistic celebration offered for the said milestone at the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, the Carmelite prelate emphasized the importance given by the Catholic Church to the family.

Love is the center of every family

Tria Tirona drew attention to the value of being together as a family, saying that “there are families today that encounter division due to work or pressure”. “There is absence of spiritual life within the family,” he said, highlighting the importance of renewing and fostering the spiritual life of the family.

According to the Carmelite prelate, this can be done by making the Holy Family one’s model family. “What can we see in the life of the Holy Family?” he asked. First, “a deep and profound faith in God”. “The [Holy Family’s] faith is seen through their prayer life,” Tria Tirona said. He further advocated the need for prayer to be part of every family’s life. “The family that prays together, stays together.”

Second is through the obedience to the will of God. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph all experienced difficulties in life, but these did not prevent them from obeying the will of God,” he said. “God wants our obedience as a family.” Third is by serving according to the mission God gives each member of the family. Tria Tirona added that “Mary served as the mother of our Lord, Joseph served as the protector and father of the Holy Family, and Jesus served His parents by being respectful towards them and by doing the will of God”.

In closing the Carmelite prelate exhorted, “Our families must learn to serve other families.” Many families today are “inward looking”, Tria Tirona said. “We must be ready to help, support and pray for families [that are in need]. Let our families be a family of faith, hope and charity; a family of obedience; and a family of generous service to others.”

“In the end,” the Carmelite prelate said, “it is important to show love within the family. Love is the center of every family.”

We belong to Christ

Tria Tirona was appointed as the 34th Bishop and 4th Archbishop of Caceres on September 8, 2012. His first impressions of the Archdiocese remain as thus: the warm reception of the people and the “tremendous outpouring of the faith and love of the lay faithful for the Blessed Virgin Mary” -these he also witnessed as he made pastoral visits. Thus, the Carmelite prelate’s fondest memories of serving Caceres include the many “gatherings to venerate Ina, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, and [celebrating] fiesta masses in the rural areas of the Archdiocese”.

Prior to his installation in Caceres, Tria Tirona reminded the lay faithful, “This is not a celebration for myself but a celebration for the community. My episcopal motto is Christi Sumus (We belong to Christ). On the day of my installation, I would like to rekindle and renew in us the sense of belonging to Christ. Nais ko lang muling buhayin sa atin na tayong lahat ay katawan ni Kristo.”

As he stepped down from office early in 2024, Tria Tirona urged the lay faithful of Caceres to “keep and deepen the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary”. “Maintain [your] warm hospitality and graciousness,” the Archbishop Emeritus said.

30 years a Bishop, 50 years a priest

Tria Tirona also celebrated his Golden Sacerdotal Anniversary last April 21. He entered the Order of Discalced Carmelites in 1964 and was ordained a priest 10 years later. He became a Bishop in 1994, with his first assignment as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila. In 1996, he was designated as the Bishop of the Diocese of Malolos. Prior to his appointment in Caceres, he served the Prelature of Infanta as their Bishop.