By Carly York | Correspondent

For parishioners of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, the weekend of July 9-10 was one in which they had an opportunity to become enlightened about the challenges and faith of people who live more than half-way around the world.

At all weekend Masses, the faithful heard from Bishop Joel Baylon, who shared about the Diocese of Legazpi, Philippines, where he is the chief shepherd, and it was also a time for him to learn about and meet faithful here in the Trenton Diocese.

Bishop Baylon’s visit to Freehold was coordinated through the diocesan Missionary Cooperative Plan, in which missionaries, who serve in all corners of the world, share their experience with the Diocese, in hopes of inspiring prayer and support for their work. In addition to St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop Baylon is also scheduled to make a mission appeal in St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Deal. He was also pleased to use his visit to the Diocese as a time to catch up with two priests who are native of the Legazpi Diocese but are now serving in the Trenton Diocese – Father Leandro B. Dela Cruz, parochial vicar in St. Jerome Parish, West Long Branch, and Father Nestor Chavenia, parochial vicar in St. Mary Parish, Barnegat.

In his homily, during which he also showed a video slideshow of pictures of his diocese, Bishop Baylon said he wanted to give the St. Robert Bellarmine parishioners a “tangible face to see so that they would come to know better the people and churches that [we] in the Diocese of Trenton have been supporting with our prayers and financial gifts.”

Bishop Baylon spoke about the active Volcano Mayon which often inflicts natural disasters on the people of Legazpi. For example, he said, in 2006, the volcano erupted and covered the entire area with thick ash, mud and debris. Soon after the eruption, a super typhoon devastated the area and the destruction, combined with the volcano debris, caused the deaths of more than 3,000 people.

To the people of the Diocese of Trenton, Bishop Baylon emphasized how “the most important thing that” they can do to help the Church in Legazpi is to pray.

“Prayers are very powerful,” he said, then added that continued material support would be most welcome through the Missionary Cooperative Plan that exists between the two Diocese.

“We are one universal Church,” Bishop Baylon said. “Our concerns are [your] concerns as we also recognize that we [in the Philippines] need to be more familiar with the concerns of the churches in the United States.”

“Our Lord called us from the very start to ‘Go forth to the ends of the earth,’” he said.

Bishop Baylon’s inspiring message was appreciated by the St. Robert Bellarmine faith community.

The bishop’s visit serves as a reminder that “we belong to a universal Church,” said Msgr. Sam Sirianni, pastor, who added that he believes that having a missionary visit will help his people grow in faith because “it will focus them on the needs of the greater Church…”

“When we realize the issues that the Church in the Philippines and the world face…the struggle for daily life…that kind of breaks us out of our box,” said Msgr. Sirianni.