Rufino Sescon

Rufino "Jun" Coronel Sescon Jr. (born April 20, 1972) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church and a professed member of the Dominican Order. He is the fifth Bishop of Balanga since March 1, 2025, having been appointed by Pope Francis on December 3, 2024 during the diocese's 2-year temporary bishopric of Florentino Lavarias, Archbishop of San Fernando, Pampanga since October 27, 2014, as sede vacante apostolic administrator and succeeded Ruperto Santos who became fifth Bishop of Antipolo on July 22, 2023.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1998, Sescon served as the personal secretary of then-Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin. He eventually rose to become one of the Philippines' most prominent preachers throughout his tenure as rector of Quiapo Church. He is also the executive director of the Catholic Mass Media Awards and a member of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Early life and education Rufino Coronel Sescon Jr. was born on April 20, 1972, in Manila, Philippines.

Ministry 1998–2025: Diaconate and priesthood Sescon was ordained to the diaconate on March 21, 1998, by Cardinal Jaime Sin, then-archbishop of Manila. He was then subsequently assigned as the parish deacon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Church in Santa Mesa, Manila, as well as the financial officer of the Sta. Mesa Parochial School, now known as the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School.

On September 19, 1998, Sescon was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Sin. He then served as Sin's assistant secretary, and later, his personal secretary from 2001 (when Socrates Villegas, Sin's former secretary, became auxiliary bishop of Manila) until his death in 2005. In 2005, he was named chaplain of the Santo Niño de Paz Greenbelt Chapel in Makati. In 2013, he was appointed as the first priest-in-charge (chaplain) of Mary Mother of Hope Chapel at Landmark Makati. His chaplaincy at both Greenbelt and Landmark Chapels ended in 2022.

His last pastoral assignment as priest was at Quiapo Church in Manila, when he was appointed by Cardinal Jose Advincula as its rector and parish priest in 2022. He also served as a member of the archdiocese's presbyteral council and as the episcopal vicar for the city of Manila. Under his pastoral leadership, the Feast of Jesús Nazareno, once a parochial feast in Quiapo, was celebrated in the whole Philippine Catholic Church for the first time in 2025.

2025–present: Bishop of Balanga Bishop Sescon (center) with Cardinal Jose Advincula (left) and Archbishop Socrates Villegas (right), and accompanying priests in the background. On December 3, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Sescon as the fifth Bishop of Balanga, succeeding Ruperto Santos, who vacated the diocese on July 22, 2023, to lead the Diocese of Antipolo.

During his ordination, Sescon received the crozier from Villegas, who inherited it from Cardinal Sin. This crozier was also used by José María Cuenco, then-Archbishop of Jaro.

Preparations for his installation at the Balanga Cathedral in Balanga, Bataan were made from February to March 1, 2025, where his coat of arms were placed at the cathedral floor and cathedra, and the cathedra was changed from orange to red.

Sescon was formally installed as and became the fifth Bishop of Balanga on March 1, 2025. He was installed by Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, in the presence of Archbishop of San Fernando and outgoing Apostolic Administrator Florentino Lavarias, his consecrator Archbishop Villegas (the homilist), Cardinals Advincula and Pablo Virgilio David (Bishop of Kalookan and CBCP President), and government officials of the province of Bataan. The installation occurred one month before Pope Francis died and subsequent funeral from April 21 to 26, 2025.

In May 2025, the cross stitch at the cathedra, added in 2015 during the tenure of his predecessor Ruperto Santos, was removed, making it now similar to its design from July 5, 2010, to August 2015 under Santos.

He mandated the creation of one diocesan shrine which is Monte de Piedad (Divine Mercy) in Abucay on October 5, 2025, the first church to be elevated into higher status during his tenure as bishop.

On January 9, 2026, Sescon presided over the Misa Mayor (Eucharistic Celebration) at the Quirino Grandstand, marking the Feast of Jesus Nazareno. He took the place of Cardinal Jose Advincula, Archbishop of Manila, who was attending an extraordinary consistory called for by Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on January 7–8, 2026. This marked a break from tradition of the Archbishop of Manila presiding over this Eucharist.