Thanks to that modern innovation called the Internet, we were able to get in touch with Bishop-Elect Vilsom Basso, who has left this country. Here is our correspondence with the former missionary to Dansolihon, who never expected himself to be elevated to the episcopacy:
1. How did you receive your appointment as Bishop of Caxias, Maranhão?
I was surprised when I received the appointment, because I was working as a missionary in the Philippines, and I never thought that I would be called back so soon to Brazil.
2. What was your immediate reaction when you received the appointment?
I requested to be given time to pray and to think about it. Eventually my answer was: “I accept it with humility, simplicity and joy.”
3. What preoccupations do you have in regard to this appointment and what do you consider as your greatest source of strength?
I am at peace because I believe that the grace of God will always be present in my life and will enable me to continue serving Him by serving His people, washing their feet, in fulfillment of the mission God has entrusted to me.
4. Can you tell us something about the Diocese of Maranhão, Brazil?
The Diocese is called Caxias. It is a territory I am familiar with, because I have visited it many times in the past when working in Youth Ministry. It is a big area of about 35,000 square kilometers, almost one third of the main island of Mindanao; moreover, it is a challenging missionary area and I consider it an opportunity to serve the people, especially the poor.
5. What have you chosen as your Episcopal motto?
The motto I have chosen is: ECCE VENIO DOMINE - HERE I AM LORD! The three words that came to my mind when I chose it and which summarize my motivation were: humility, simplicity and service.
6. You are a religious belonging to the SCJ order, how do you feel about leaving the SCJ community in order to serve as bishop of a diocese?
I will continue to be a Dehonian, SCJ, in my heart, because the spirituality of SCJ Congregation will continue to inspire me to serve, to walk and “to go to the people”. The motto I have chosen is part of the SCJ spirituality and Charism and defines the way I want to live, that is, repeating everyday: “Here I am Lord to do Your will.”
7. Can you briefly share something of your vocation story.
I was born on February 16, 1960, in Lageado Capivara, Cinquentenario, Tuparendi, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and was ordained on December 28, 1985. I spent 16 years working as a missionary in the north-eastern part of Brazil and 4 years in the nationwide Youth Ministry of the CBCB-Catholic Bishops Conference of Brazil. In December 2006, I was sent outside Brazil to serve the Filipino people. In the last two years, I was working as formator in SCJ Formation House of Aluba, and as parish priest of the Dansolihon Chaplaincy.
8. What is your message to the People of Cagayan?
What I would like to say to the Filipino people is that I enjoyed working as a missionary in the Philippines. I learned a lot from serving you and being with you. Thank you for your kindness, for your constant smile, for your patient endurance and endless hope. I am thankful to God, to the SCJ District of Philippines, to the Most. Rev. Antonio Ledesma, SJ, to the clergy, religious, and lay people. In addition, thank you, dear people of Dansolihon Chaplaincy for welcoming me, loving, and supporting me. Dear people of Cagayan de Oro Diocese and of the entire Philippines, I will keep you and this nice missionary experience in my mind and in my heart. May the Lord God continue to bless all of you. Amen.
- conducted by Mary Anne Padilla, FSP
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