Newly installed Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Socrates B. Villegas on Thursday urged the Catholic faithful “to be the salt of the earth.”

In his homily delivered at the Cathedral of St. John the Apostle in Dagupan City, Pangasinan, the 49-year-old former bishop of Balanga, Bataan said, he comes to the people of Lingayen-Dagupan “as Jesus came, the servant who called us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.”

“Pangasinan,” he said, “was named after salt (“panag-asinan”) so we must truly be salt for society and salt for the rest of the world. Like ASIN, let us embark on a mission for social transformation and Church renewal.” Villegas said ASIN stands for Apostolic action nurtured by prayer, Sanctified and sanctifying community of disciples, Integration of faith and life, and New and intensive evangelization.

Villegas called on his “brother priests to be the salt of the Church and society and the Catholic laity to be the salt of Pangasinan and to preserve like salt the Catholic faith. Keep the faith alive and young, vibrant, and loyal.”

He also paid tribute to his predecessor Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz who served the archdiocese for 18 years. He said, “I am treading on the footsteps of a great man of the Church, an epic man who is himself larger than life.” (Christina I. Hermoso)