Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Andrés Ligot New Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San José, California in the United States.
The elected bishop is currently pastor of Santa Isabel de Portugal and Vicar General of the Diocese of San José.
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Before his appointment in 2021 in Santa Isabel de Portugal, Ligot, 59, served as a judicial vicar of the diocese between 2008 and 2021.
The bishop of San José, Mons. Oscar Cantú, expressed his gratitude for the episcoal designation of Ligot, in a statement this August 29, published on the Diocesan website.
“His priestly heart, his pastoral experience and his firm leadership will bless our parishes, schools and ministries,” Cantú said. “I invite the faithful to pray for him while preparing for his consecration1 episcopal.”
Ligot said he felt “honest” for the trust and support he has received from Pope León and Cantú and asked people to pray to continue being a “faithful server” within the diocese.
“I renew my promise to serve Christ and his people with joy, especially those most in need,” he said in a statement published by the diocese.
Ordered priest in 1992 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of San Pedro in Rome for the diocese of the city of Laoag, the Philippines, Ligot was incardinated in the diocese of San José on March 30, 2004.
Before his incardination in the Californian diocese, Ligot served as a parochial vicar of the St. John Vianney parish, San José, from 2003 to 2005. He was also chaplain at the Veterans Medical Center in San Francisco and visiting priest in the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. From 2005 to 2009, the elected bishop was pastor of San Lorenzo Mártir in Santa Clara.
Ligot attended the San Pablo University Seminary in Baguio, the Philippines, and continued his priestly studies at the Bidasoa International Seminary in Navarra, Spain, where he obtained a master’s degree in theology. Subsequently, he obtained a doctorate in Canon Law from the University of Navarra, Spain.
Ligot, who speaks English, Spanish, Tagalo and Ilocano, will become the second auxiliary bishop designated for the diocese of San José and the sixth American prelate of the Philippines.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA
Kristina Millare
Kristina Millare is an independent journalist with professional experience in communications in the humanitarian aid sector and development, news journalism, entertainment, politics and government, business and entrepreneurship.