MANILA (UCAN): Bishop Edgar Gacutan was officially installed on March 19 as the new bishop of the Diocese of Sendai in Japan. The 57-year-old is the first Filipino bishop to serve in Japan. His ordination was attended by family members and friends from the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In his thanksgiving speech, Bishop Gacutan recalled the roots of his vocation in the congregation that provided him with the “seeds of mission.”
He said, “I found my vocation as a missionary back in the Philippines. The seed was planted in the Philippines, the tree bore fruit in Japan.”
The bishop expressed solidarity with victims of the war in Ukraine and the 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit the Japanese city of Fukushima on March 16, killing at least four people.
It is “[my] hope that the war in Ukraine would end soon,” he said.
Explaining why no one should be surprised that a Filipino became a bishop in a Japanese diocese, Bishop Gacutan quoted the apostolic nuncio to Japan, Archbishop Leo Baccardi, saying, “The Catholic Church is missionary and universal, which means it is open to the world, embracing everyone and giving hope when there is despair.”
Bishop Gacutan explained that although he was born in the Philippines, he was “at home” in Japan. He noted that the martyrdom of San Lorezo Ruiz on 27 September 1637, during the Tokugawa Shogunate has finally borne fruit by welcoming the first Filipino bishop on Japanese soil.
“I have already been at home in Japan. And I hope that our diocese in Sendai will be a home for everyone. In the midst of catastrophes, we the Church, united in Christ, must walk as Christ walked with the Church” the bishop said.
“We want to walk vigorously one day for the creation of the Church. May we become one heart and soul—these are the words of my episcopal motto,” he said.
