Relics of St. Toribio Romo (Mexican martyr) at the Christ the Light Cathedral

The relics of St. Toribio Romo Gonzalez, a Mexican martyr who died during the Cristero War, is currently making rounds in the San Francisco Bay Area for the month of June and July. The first stop was at the Christ the Light Cathedral in Oakland, CA on June 11, 2011, where his Excellency, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, had offered Mass and blessed the faithful with the relic. The occasion also gave me and my family the chance to explore the Cathedral (I have been there on several occasions but never found the time to really look around) For further details and a schedule of the relic tour, check out The Catholic Voice online edition.

Some interesting sights as we explored the Cathedral vicinity:

3 New Priests ordained for the Diocese of San Jose, CA

Last Saturday (June 4, 2011), the Diocese of San Jose was blessed to have 3 new priests that were ordained by Bishop Patrick J. McGrath at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. The streaming video of the ordination can be viewed here, courtesy of the Diocese. Let us remember Fr. Angelo David, Fr. Steve Kim and Fr. Andrew Nguyen in our prayers!

Bishop McGrath chatting with the sisters of the Missionary of Charity.

Fr. Angelo David giving his first priestly blessing.

My turn to get the blessing!

Me and Fr. Angelo David. We're both product of the Salesian schools in the Philippines (he studied at Don Bosco Makati, I studied at Don Bosco Mandaluyong). He did introduce me to his brother, who also studied in DB Mandaluyong but who's ahead of me by four years.

Fr. Angelo David with his family. His brother told me that they flew all the way from New Zealand!

The newly ordained priests: Fr. Angelo David, Fr. Steve Kim and Fr. Andrew Nguyen.

The Cathedral entrance.

Another view of the Cathedral.

A small token to each of the newly ordained priests. More photos can be found here.

Bishop-Elect Thomas Daly's Episcopal Ordination (San Jose, CA)

Some photos captured from the Diocese of San Jose's video feed online (UStream) of Bishop-Elect Thomas Daly's Episcopal Ordination that took place today, May 25, 2011. Kudos to the Diocese for making this webstream available online. The number of viewers who watched online appears to have exceeded the number of people who were actually present at the Cathedral! Amazing how technology works! Let us keep the new Auxiliary Bishop Daly in our prayers!

Four new priests for the Diocese of Oakland, California!

It has been quite sometime since I last posted on the blog (juggling family life and work hasn't been easy these couple of months, not to mention blogging!), but I wanted to just quickly mention about the four priests that were ordained two days ago (May 14, 2011) by his Excellency, The Most Reverend Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone at the Christ the Light Cathedral. It was unfortunate that due to a conflict with my schedule, I wasn't able to make it on their Ordination Mass. However, I'd like to request that you keep the new Fathers, Fr. Alexander Q. Castillo, Fr. Edilberto Castanas, Fr. Gerald Pedrera and Fr. Rafal Duda in your prayers.

Fr. Rafal Duda giving a blessing to my wife and son after his first mass at St. Margaret Mary's.

The front of the ordination card given to the faithful featuring the newly Blessed John Paul II!

The back of the ordination card given to the faithful after receiving a blessing from Fr. Duda.