The Association of Catholic Shrines and Pilgrimages of the Philippines (ACSP) has elected Father Reynante Tolentino of the Diocese of Antipolo as its new president.
Father Tolentino’s election took place during the ACSP’s 27th general assembly that was held online on September 27.
The priest is currently the rector and parish administrator of the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage or the Antipolo Cathedral.
“We hope and pray that each Catholic shrine in our country would be able to ‘update’ their ways of bringing visiting pilgrims and parishioners closer to God in the form of these dignified pilgrimage centers,” Father Tolentino said.
“Let us remember that devotion must deepen one’s faith and that these shrines are ways of realizing the beauty and majesty of the heavenly realities,” he added.
Father Tolentino succeeded Father Roderick Castro, outgoing rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Makati City, who led the association for seven years.
ACSP also elected Father Dario Cabral of the Diocese of Malolos as its vice-president for Northern and Central Luzon; Father Virgilio Mendoza of the Diocese of Imus as vice president for NCR and Southern Luzon; Father Nestor Bandalan Jr. of the Augustinian Province of Sto. Niño de Cebu as vice president for the Visayas; and Father Lyndon Zayas of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro as vice president for Mindanao.
The other new officers are Father Jonathan Cadiz of the Diocese of Parañaque as priest-secretary, Brother Kendrick Ivan Panganiban of the Diocese of Malolos as lay secretary, Father Edwin Hari of the Augustinian Province of the Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines as treasurer, Father Gomer Torres of the Diocese of San Pablo as auditor and Brother Caesar Gabriel Fernando as chairman of the Committee on Publicity and Press Release.
Founded in 1991, ACSP is under the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
