The Dayak ethnic priest replaces Monsignor Giulio Mencuccini. Now all the dioceses in the country are led by Indonesian bishops. Card. Suharyo: the new bishop will continue the good work of his predecessor. His philosophical knowledge will help him combine local wisdom and Christianity.
Sanggau () – Msgr. Valentinus Saeng is the new bishop of the diocese of Sanggau, in the province of West Kalimantan. The episcopal ordination took place today in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio Piero Pioppo and Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta and President of the Indonesian Episcopal Conference. Several bishops and government officials also participated, as well as thousands of faithful Catholics.
The Archbishop of the Malaysian Diocese of Kuching, Monsignor Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng, also attended the ceremony. Along with the dioceses of Pontianak and Sintang, the diocese of Sanggau has a long border with Malaysia.
In the month of June, Pope Francis appointed Mons, Saeng as head of the diocese., a Passionist priest of the Dayak ethnic group. He replaces Monsignor Giulio Mencuccini, an Italian religious, also a Passionist, who led the diocese since 1990 and retired after reaching the age limit. Now the Indonesian Catholic Church will no longer have any foreign missionary bishops at the head of its dioceses.
As a pastoral motto, Bishop Saeng has chosen “bonum depositum custodi“(guards the good deposit of truth), taken from the words of Saint Paul to Timothy after appointing him bishop. Card. Suharyo praised this decision, because it reflects the firm commitment of the new pastor to watch over the good work of his predecessor, Archbishop Mencuccini.
Addressing those present, Msgr. Saeng said that he never expected to be elected bishop: “My only personal ambition was to be a philosophy professor, but when the pontiff appointed me, I could not back down because God is guiding me everywhere.”
Monsignor Mencuccini wanted to highlight the preparation of his successor, who has served as a philosophy professor at the Widya Mandala Catholic University in Surabaya and at the St. Thomas Catholic University in Medan: “He will certainly be able to combine local wisdom with our Christianity “.
