The Rev. Anthony Celino appointed by Pope Francis as auxiliary bishop for El Paso Diocese

The El Paso Catholic Diocese will have its first auxiliary bishop with the appointment of Bishop-elect Anthony C. Celino, Pope Francis announced Wednesday.

Celino will be the third person of Filipino descent elected as bishop in the United States.

Celino is the current pastor of St. Raphael Parish in East El Paso and current judicial vicar for the Diocese of El Paso.

The episcopal ordination for Celino will be March 31 at St. Patrick Cathedral, according to a diocesan news release.

"I believe Bishop Celino will be a very valuable co-worker with me in this ministry for the good of the church of El Paso," Bishop Mark Seitz said at a news conference at the Catholic Diocese.

Seitz said Celino brings a lot of qualities and experience to the diocese.

"He has previously served as my vicar general and made substantive contributions to the local church's life. He brings a unique experience as a Filipino immigrant serving our border community as a priest for the past 25 years, a steadfast dedication to pastoral ministry, and fidelity to the Gospel," he said.

Celino, who walked into the news conference side by side with Seitz, said he was grateful for his years of service to various parishes in preparation for his new role.

"I thank God for those years of parish ministry. I thought I would spend my life in spiritual work and service to the parish where I found so much joy and meaning. Now life takes a new turn," he said. "In this ministry, I will be assisting our bishop in his efforts in El Paso and West Texas. As his co-worker, I will dedicate myself to serving the people of the diocese and the church without counting the cost."

In the interim, Celino will remain in his current position as pastor of St. Raphael Parish on the East Side and judicial vicar of the Diocese of El Paso until later this spring.

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Seitz said the appointment started with the first step of requesting an auxiliary bishop through the nuncio and then the pope.

"For a long time, I've been wrestling how I can address all the needs I see here effectively and always feeling like someone with a plate that is always full and sometimes some food is falling off," he said.

Seitz said he has national responsibilities, such as being the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration and Refugee Services, which he now will be able to focus more on, with Celino focusing on the diocese on a local level.

"El Paso is a happening place in terms of the church itself, which is very much alive and therefore has a lot of needs. But also in terms of events that have caught the awareness of our country and in a sense our world, it adds a certain responsibility to the church to be able to speak a message connected from the gospel and effectively in the midst of this challenging situation," he said.

Seitz said he has two major priorities for the committee: grassroots work to help neighboring countries whose citizens are fleeing and helping relay a more accurate picture of the immigration issue and why people are coming into the United States.

Celino, who was born in the Philippines, immigrated to El Paso in 1993. He is the youngest of seven children.

After his ordination to the priesthood in 1997, Celino was assigned as parochial vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso and then at Our Lady of Peace in Alpine. He also served as the pastor of the former Santa Lucia Parish, now St. John Paul II Parish.

Celino has served the Diocese of El Paso as a vicar general, moderator of the curia, and chancellor and taught at the Tepeyac Institute. He also served as the delegate of the apostolic administrator when the diocese did not have a bishop from December 2011 to July 2013.

The Catholic Diocese of El Paso is comprised of 26,686 square miles in Texas and has a total population of 923,088, of which 720,009 are Catholic, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150, mcortes@elpasotimes.com and @EPTMaria on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Rev. Anthony Celino appointed as new auxiliary bishop by Pope Francis