NEWLY-ORDAINED Bishop Louie Galbines was officially installed Tuesday, May 29 as the third bishop of the Diocese of Kabankalan.
During the episcopal ordination at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City on Monday, May 29, with Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales as the main consecrator, Galbines quipped that he was playing a tennis match when he received the news about his next task.
He said he received God's call through Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia on March 4, not in moments of prayer and meditation, but during a tennis game.
"God is not only kind and merciful but he is playful. So if you want to become a Bishop, you must know how to play tennis. It is never too late to learn tennis," he said.
He dreamt of becoming a priest, but not a bishop.
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that the ordination of Galbines a happy day for Bacolod and Negros Occidental because he is somebody "we can really call our own."
The mayor said that the new Bishop is a rare breed. "He can talk about the Gospel, church teachings and you can feel very comfortable with him because he has a very good sense of humor."
Leonardia noted that Bishops retire at the age of 70 or 75 years old so Bishop Galbines, who was about 52 or 53 years old, has a very long way to go.
"He is the kind who has the potential of even maybe climbing the ladder higher and higher," the mayor added.
He said: "We look forward to his vocation to receive more blessings because he is so spiritual, and at the same time very practical, very human and very humorous.
Like every Negrense, we also look forward to the next chapter of the Bishop's life.