By Marinel E. Peroy
TAGUDIN, ILOCOS SUR — In this quiet Ilocano town where faith and public service often go hand in hand, former mayor Roque “Jun” Verzosa finds himself carrying a legacy that now stretches from town hall to the Vatican.
As the Catholic Church advances the beatification cause of Bishop Alfredo Verzosa — the first bishop from the Ilocos region and now being studied for sainthood — Jun Verzosa reflects on how his granduncle’s life shaped both his faith and his years in public office.
What might have seemed like a distant Vatican process has become deeply personal.
As a direct descendant of Bishop Alfredo Verzosa, he recalls hearing stories about their family’s role and feeling “really very happy” with a growing “passion to help his… [candidacy] for sainthood.”
Born in Vigan in 1877, Bishop Alfredo Verzosa became known for strengthening catechism formation, promoting Catholic education, and helping found the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart. Church leaders remember him as disciplined yet compassionate — a strict shepherd who also believed deeply in mercy and reconciliation.
In Tagudin, that legacy found another expression through public service.
Jun Verzosa, who served 18 years as mayor, says the bishop’s example influenced his own approach to leadership — particularly discipline, integrity, and firmness in governance.
In an exclusive interview with THEPHILBIZNEWS, he shared how his public life and private faith have increasingly become intertwined as the beatification process moves forward in Rome.
At the Vatican, Bishop Verzosa’s cause has entered the historical stage, where records, testimonies, and documents are being examined.
Verzosa explained that in the “causes of saints in [the] Vatican,” there is a “historical [and] theological” process where “the postulator will be going there to answer all the questions… to check if Bishop Verzosa [was] really a venerable one, going to beatification.”
He remains hopeful the cause could make significant progress “within the year.”
Known locally as Servant Leader (SL) Verzosa, the former mayor says the process has brought him “definitely closer to God,” connecting his years in police service and politics to a continuing spiritual journey.
And when asked for his message to the public, he returned to the same Gospel-centered call preached by his granduncle decades ago:
“Two things, message: Believe in the gospel and repent.”