Wenceslao Padilla Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:Most Reverend
Wenceslao Padilla
Honorific-Suffix:C.I.C.M.
Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar
Church:Catholic Church
Diocese:Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar
See:Ulaanbaatar
Appointed:2 August 2003
Term:2003–2018
Predecessor:Everard Ter Laak
Successor:Giorgio Marengo
Ordination:17 March 1976
Ordained By:Victorino Cristobal Ligot
Consecration:29 August 2003
Consecrated By:Crescenzio Sepe[1]
Birth Name:Wenceslao Selga Padilla
Birth Date:1949 9, df=y
Birth Place:Tubao, Philippines
Death Place:Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Nationality:Filipino
Religion:Roman Catholic Church
Residence:Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Motto:Light that illuminate people
Coat Of Arms:Coat of arms of Wenceslao Selga Padilla.svg
Wenceslao Selga Padilla
Deathstyle:none

Wenceslao Selga Padilla (29 September 1949 – 25 September 2018) was a Filipino Scheut priest who from 2 August 2003 was the Apostolic prefect of the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar, a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Mongolia.

Biography

Born on 29 September 1949[2] in Tubao, La Union, Philippines,[3] Wenceslao Padilla came from a Catholic family; his father was a catechist. In 1960 he entered the seminary and in 1976 was ordained a priest for Scheut Missionaries. He was a missionary in Taiwan and, for six years, a provincial superior of the Chinese provinces of his Order.

When in 1991 Mongolia and the Holy See established diplomatic relations, he was sent as a missionary to Urga (the old name of Ulanbataar). On 19 April 1992 he was appointed ecclesiastical superior of the mission sui iuris of Urga. He began taking care of street children, the homeless, disabled and old.[4]

When on 8 July 2002, Pope John Paul II established the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar, Father Padilla became its first prefect. On 2 August 2003 he received the episcopal dignity; he received the titular see of Tharros. His episcopal consecration on 29 August 2003 was presided over by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, in the Ulanbataar cathedral.

The first Mongolian priest, Joseph Enkhee-Baatar, was ordained by Padilla on 26 August 2016.[5]

He continued in his ministry giving help to homeless and orphans until 2016.[6]

Death

Padilla died on 25 September 2018 in Ulaanbaatar due to a heart attack.[5] [7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Filipino Is Mongolia's First Catholic Bishop . 5 November 2023 . Los Angeles Times . 6 September 2003.
  2. News: 蒙古烏蘭巴托宗座監牧黃旭東主教逝世,享年69歲. Bishop Wenceslao Padilla, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, dies at age 69. SL Media. Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation. zh. 2018-09-25.
  3. News: Bishop Wenceslao Padilla . 5 November 2023 . UCA News.
  4. Web site: Catholics in Mongolia: Steady growth in difficult territory. ACN News. Aid to the Church in Need. 2023-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20160804090459/https://members4.boardhost.com/acnaus/msg/1400138674.html. 2016-08-04.
  5. News: Mongolia’s first bishop, Msgr. Wenceslao Padilla, has died . 26 September 2018 . AsiaNews . 26 September 2018.
  6. Web site: Religious Freedom Association Forming in Mongolia: Supporters Urge Implementation of Constitution’s Religious Freedom Guarantee. International Religious Liberty Association. 2016-07-01. 2009-09-18.
  7. News: Lagarde . Roy . Filipino bishop, first prelate of Mongolia, dies – UCA News . 5 November 2023 . UCA News . 26 September 2018 . en.