Collegio Filippino in Rome ready for visit of nearly 100 bishops

The Pontificio Collegio Filippino (PCF) in Rome is ready to welcome the first batch of Philippine bishops scheduled for their “ad limina" visit to Vatican. At least 98 Philippine Catholic bishops will meet with Pope Benedict XVI starting in November when they go to the Vatican in Rome for their “ad limina" visit. The "quinquennial visit ad limina apostolorum" or simply "ad limina visit" refers to the obligation of diocesan bishops to visit every five years the tombs of the Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul. The bishops also have to meet the Pope and report on the state of their dioceses or prelatures. Facilities and supplies PCF Rector Fr. Gregory Ramon Gaston said facilities and supplies have been prepared for the bishops. “The Pontificio Collegio Filippino is ready for the arrival of the first batch of Bishops to have their ‘ad limina’ visit here in Rome," he said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site. Gaston said they have prepared the rooms and computers that the bishops would be using. They also have made it easy for the bishops to request for papal blessings certificates. Gaston said they also prepared souvenir items for sale, a service van to bring the bishops to their destinations, laundry schedules, and others. First batch of bishops The first batch of bishops, which includes Archbishops Gaudencio Rosales (Manila) and Ricardo Vidal (Cebu), are scheduled to be in Rome from November 25 to December 6. It will be the bishops’ first “ad limina" visit to Pope Benedict XVI. The Philippine bishops’ last “ad limina" took place in 2003, the CBCP said. “The ‘ad limina’ visit is an opportune time for the bishops of the Philippines to visit the Pope and to renew their commitment to shepherd the Faithful in our local Church in the Philippines," the CBCP said. A practice since the 1500s The ad limina visit has been an official practice of Catholic bishops since the 1500s. In 1585, Pope Sixtus V issued the "Constitution Romanus Pontifex," which specified the norm for the ad limina visits. On December 31, 1909, in a "Decree for the Consistorial Congregation," Pope Pius X stated that a bishop needs to report to the pope on the state of his diocese once every five years, starting in 1911. Three batches of bishops The bishops who will go to Rome have been divided into three groups: (1) Prelates from 30 pastoral jurisdictions in Metro Manila and Central and Northern Luzon; scheduled to stay at the Vatican from November 25 to December 6 this year; (2) Bishops from the 28 dioceses in Southern Luzon, Visayas and the Military Ordinariate; will visit the Vatican from February 7 to 19, 2011. (3) Bshops from Mindanao including the Archbishop of Lipa; February 21 to March 5, 2011. – VVP, GMANews.TV