Dimalanta receives papal knighthood

By Angel Villaralvo

BAGUIO CITY — Prominent Baguio religious and civic leader Johnnie Dimalanta was installed Knight of Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester during mass last Oct. 30 here at the Baguio Cathedral.
Bishop Carlito Cenzon of Baguio acted in behalf of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI who conferred on Esquire Johnnie Dimalanta the Papal Knighthood last April 20.

The Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester, pope and martyr of the 4th century, is a church institution created on Oct. 31, 1841 by Pope Gregory XVI with his Papal Brief entitled “Quo Hominem Mentes”.

The honor is bestowed on lay persons for outstanding, consistent and enduring involvement in the life and mission of the church, who express and exemplify this in the exercise of their profession and mastership of the different arts.

Among the recipients of the honor were Bob Hope, Japanese envoy to the Holy See Ken Harada, Guam Gov. Joseph Flores and then Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See Leonida Laki Vera.

Dimalanta, from the parish of the Immaculate Conception, Aurora Hill, is the first from the Cordillera to be so honored.

Dimalanta, now 88, is married to Dr. Irene Dimalanta, with whom he has four children: Maria Mita Angela, Francis Xavier Daniel Anne Marie and Edmund Gregory, and three grandchildren: Katrina Isabel, Gabriel Ignacio and Jaime Agustin.

Dimalanta started out as a an altar boy at the Baguio Cathedral. His love for the mass and his consistency and reliab8ility to show up for service faithfully carried on into adulthood.

He became a member of the Knights of Columbus and a leader of different church organizations such as the Holy Name Society, Cursillo, the Lay Ministers of the Holy Communion. He was a charter organizer, president, board member of the Baguio Red Cross, the Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, Apaches, Jaycees, the Supermarkets and Groceries Association, Personnel Management Association of the Philippinesand the Hotel and Restaurant Association.

He lives by the motto: “Give your all to God and to life.”