RP's oldest bishop passes away at 93

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s oldest Catholic bishop passed away Monday morning at the age of 93. An article posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website said Bishop Manuel Del Rosario, emeritus of Malolos in Bulacan, passed away at 1:00 a.m. due to pneumonia. Del Rosario was the uncle of the newly appointed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Manuel Gaite. Gaite, himself a former seminarian, said his late uncle succumbed at the Yanga Hospital in Bocaue, Bulacan. “He is the country’s last living bishop ordained under Vatican I," he said. Del Rosario had been paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair since 1963 when he suffered a stroke while attending the Second Vatican Council I in Rome. Del Rosario, a native of Baao, Camarines Sur, was born on July 1, 1915. He was ordained to the priesthood at age 23 in March 25, 1939 at the Cathedral of Nueva Caceres. His Episcopal ordination took place at the same location on July 25, 1955, and he was appointed Bishop of Calbayog in Samar on July 25, 1958. In December 1961, Del Rosario was appointed as the first bishop of the newly-created Diocese of Malolos, but he later resigned on December 15, 1977 due to health reasons. Del Rosario's remains would be brought to the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary on late Monday night. Meanwhile, interment will be held on Friday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Malolos. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV