Learn to Walk, Feel with Your Flock, New Philippines Bishop Told

A newly ordained bishop in the Philippines was reminded to walk and feel with the flock entrusted to him in line with the Church’s desire to build a deeply synodal community.

Bishop Dave Dean Capucao, the fifth bishop of the Prelature of Infanta in Quezon Province, was urged not to act as a dictator over the people under his care but to accompany them in a journey of discernment.

“If we no longer feel each other’s joy and sorrows, especially the cries of the poor, we cease to be the living Body of Christ,” said Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David in his homily during Bishop Capucao’s episcopal ordination and installation on September 5.

Reflecting on the new bishop’s chosen motto, Sentire cum ecclesia (“to think with the Church”), the cardinal emphasized why every bishop must emulate how Christ thinks, feels, and loves.

“Is that even possible? Yes, if we learn how to be humble,” he said. “If we can regard others as more important than ourselves [and] care not only for our own interests but also those of others.”

Cardinal David, who also serves as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, told Bishop Capucao that a true shepherd should not be “a ruler who commands from above.”

“A shepherd… shares in the life of his flock,” he said. “For Jesus, the true path upward is downward; through humility, service, [and] self-emptying.”

Several bishops from across the Philippines attended the ordination and installation, held at the Cathedral-Parish of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague and St. Mark the Evangelist in Infanta. The event also coincided with the 75th anniversary of the canonical establishment of the Prelature of Infanta.

Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles John Brown served as principal consecrator, with two former bishops of Infanta, Bernardino Cortez and Rolando Tria Tirona, acting as co-consecrators.

In his message, Archbishop Brown encouraged the faithful to support their new bishop. “When the family of God is united in love, we walk together as a caravan of God towards [His] Kingdom. That is the basic image of the Synod… We are all different, but all are called to holiness,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his Thanksgiving message, Bishop Capucao vowed to be a “fellow traveler” with the faithful. “This is my desire: to be your bishop not just to govern, but also one who listens, cooperates, and serves,” he said.

Bishop Capucao was appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the new bishop of Infanta on May 16, 2025, following the resignation of his predecessor, Bishop Bernardino Cortez. At the time of his appointment, he was serving as rector of Saint Joseph Formation House in Quezon City.

Born on September 25, 1965, in Daet, Camarines Sur, he was ordained a priest for the Prelature of Infanta on October 3, 1994.

Over the years, Bishop Capucao has served as parish priest of Nuestra Señora de Salvacion in Casiguran, Aurora (1994–2000); researcher at Radboud University in the Netherlands (2002–2006); parish priest of Saint Ludger in the Archdiocese of Utrecht, Netherlands (2007–2011); academic and pastoral director and formator of Saint Joseph Formation House in Quezon City (2012–2014); teacher in various seminaries and theology schools (since 2012); and superintendent of the Catholic Schools of the Prelature of Infanta (since 2021).