SAN JOSE, California (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV last week named Filipino native Father Andres (Andy) C. Ligot as the new auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of San Jose.

Bishop-elect Ligot, 59, has served as a priest for 33 years, having been ordained in 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome. Ligot, San Jose’s first auxiliary bishop in 10 years, will become just the sixth American prelate who is a native of the Philippines and will serve under San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú.

“I am humbled by the Holy Father’s trust and by Bishop Cantú’s support,” the bishop-elect said in a statement. “I renew my promise to serve Christ and His people with joy — especially those most in need. Please pray for me, that I may be a faithful servant and a good shepherd in our beautifully diverse Church.”

The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has appointed Andres “Andy” C. Ligot, a priest of the Diocese of San José, as auxiliary bishop of the same diocese.

Bishop-elect Ligot currently serves as Vicar General and Chancellor of the diocese as well as a parish pastor.

Bishop-elect Ligot… pic.twitter.com/Nf0FIMBu48

— U.S. Bishops Tracker (@USBishopsData) August 29, 2025

“Today we rejoice with gratitude for Bishop-elect Ligot’s ‘yes’ to the Lord and to the Church in Silicon Valley,” Bishop Cantú said of Ligot’s appointment. “His priestly heart, pastoral experience, and steady leadership will bless our parishes, schools, and ministries. I invite the faithful to keep him in prayer as he prepares for episcopal ordination.”

After Ligot’s ordination to the priesthood, he first served in the Diocese of Laoag City in the Philippines before coming to the United States to serve in various roles at parishes in the Diocese of San Jose. The bishop-elect currently serves as the Vicar General and Chancellor of the diocese as well as the pastor of St. Elizabeth of Portugal in Milpitas.

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St. Elizabeth’s is a diverse parish with Masses in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish. Livestreams from St. Elizabeth’s Masses frequently show girls serving at the altar while modern guitar hymns are played. The parish has also hosted a “group prayer concert” led by a laywoman.

On the other hand, the clergy have also sung the traditional “Tantum Ergo” hymn in Latin during the benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (Viewable in the link below, beginning at 1:21:27), although with an altar girl present.

Ligot holds a B.A. in philosophy from San Pablo College Seminary in the Philippines as well as an M.A. in Sacred Theology, Licentiate in Canon Law (J.C.L.), and a Doctorate in Canon Law (J.C.D.) from the University of Navarra in Spain.

The appointment of immigrants as American bishops seems to be a trend among Pope Leo’s initial U.S. episcopal appointments. One of the American pontiff’s first appointments was Bishop Michael Pham, who emigrated from Vietnam, as the ordinary of San Diego. Leo has also appointed Father Pedro Bismarck Chau, a native of Nicaragua, as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.

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