MANILA (UCAN): The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) announced the death of Bishop Jose Sorra, the country’s oldest bishop, from respiratory failure on January 21. He was 91-years-old.
Bishop Sorra, who served Diocese of Legazpi in southern Luzon from 1993 until his retirement in 2005.
“It is with deep sadness that we as a diocese mourn the death of Bishop Emeritus Jose Crisologo Sorra,” Bishop Joel Baylon of Legazpi said in a letter to clergy and laity.
Bishop Sorra was born on the island of Catanduanes in the Bicol region. He received his priestly formation at the Holy Rosary Seminary in Naga City in the same region.
He later studied at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and at Fordham University in the United States for his master’s degree.
In his early years as a priest, he served as national director of Student Catholic Action of the Philippines, the first student religious organisation in the Philippines that took part in mass protests during the dictatorship of late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
After his ordination as bishop in 1974, he was appointed chairperson of the bishops’ Commission on Youth.
He was also a member of the CBCP’s permanent council.
After his stint on the council, Bishop Sorra served in the secretariat of the Social Action Commission.
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Bishop Sorra was Legazpi’s fourth diocesan bishop but was a man of many firsts, according to Bishop Baylon.
He was the first bishop of the diocese to set up a welfare plan for priests by building a pastoral and retreat centre for the spiritual formation of both clergy and laity. He also organised the first synod to discuss the concerns of priests, including how to handle sexual abuse cases and corruption in the Church.
The Diocese of Legazpi declared January 26 a day of mourning for Bishop Sorra.
“All parish activities will be suspended and parish offices in the diocese will be closed. There will also be a simultaneous ringing of bells at noon as a sign of our grateful remembering of Bishop Sorra in our prayers,” Bishop Baylon said.
He urged people to pray for the soul of Bishop Sorra at Masses to be celebrated across the diocese.
“We will miss Bishop Sorra. He was a man of simplicity and gentleness. He always made himself available for people. I admire his courage in shaping the religious consciousness of young Filipinos,” Arnel Barcinas, a churchgoer in Legazpi Diocese, said.
