Archbishop Charlie Inzon was installed Monday as head of the Cotabato archdiocese, returning to the same cathedral where, five years ago, he was ordained bishop in an almost empty church at the height of the pandemic.
Addressing the congregation, he said the memory of that quiet ordination shaped his pastoral vision, teaching him “to welcome the most abandoned and the wounded.”
He said the moment also taught him to make communities “a true home for the poor, the forgotten, and for all who long to belong.”
“This remains at the center and will remain at the center of my ministry as a synodal bishop— that no one will be left behind, unseen or unheard,” Inzon said.
The 60-year-old was installed by his predecessor, Archbishop Emeritus Angelito Lampon, who served Cotabato for about six years, on Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
About 15 other prelates attended, including Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, also a retired archbishop of Cotabato, and Archbishop Julius Tonel of Zamboanga, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
Inzon recalled the contrast between the packed Immaculate Conception Cathedral on Dec. 8 and the “unprecedented moment” of his episcopal ordination, when only 10 people were present.
“More bishops than priests, and more priests than lay,” he recalled, noting there were only four bishops, three priests and two laypeople.
“…Devoid of external festivities, the grace of the Holy Spirit rested upon me in a manner both powerful, unmistakable and pure,” Inzon said.
The archbishop said the stripped-down ceremony became “a pure encounter with the Lord, who consecrates, strengthens and sends,” a lesson he continues to carry into ministry.
He also recalled the absence of a prepared cathedral, including no chair reserved for him. Lampon, his principal consecrator, was supposed to lead him to his seat, but there were only three chairs — one each for Lampon and co-consecrators Quevedo and Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan.
Quevedo offered a plastic monobloc chair. “It seemed merely a practical solution,” Inzon said. “But in truth, it became for me a prophetic sign.”
As apostolic vicar of Jolo in the following years, he said he would sit countless times on simple monobloc chairs in islands, coastal communities and small chapels.
“God was teaching me early that the office of bishop is shaped by the context of his people and time,” he said. “True authority is exercised not from earthly grandeur but from the heart of humble service.”
He also recalled blessing empty pews in a vacant cathedral. That experience, he said, revealed the heart of his pastoral mission: “to seek out those who are already far from the Church.”
Inzon said he learned how to be a bishop not “from manuals or books” but from the people he encountered in ministry.
“The Christians, the Muslims, the indigenous peoples, families striving for peace, youth searching for meaning, the poor who carry hope with quiet strength — they became my teachers,” he added.
His installation coincided with the episcopal coronation of the Immaculate Conception and the closing of the archdiocese’s 75th anniversary celebration.
Inzon also entrusted his ministry to the Blessed Mother “that I may lead the flock entrusted to me with the heart of Christ — as a shepherd attentive to the needs of the flock, as a servant leader committed to serving rather than being served, and as a faithful steward exercising leadership with transparency, accountability, courage and love.”
