Pope
Francis on Saturday evening named an auxiliary bishop of Iloilo as the new
bishop of San Carlos diocese in Negros Occidental, the Catholic
Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.
The
CBCP said the Pope named Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza the new bishop
of San Carlos Diocese at noon at the Vatican, or 6 p.m. in Manila.
"With
his appointment, Alminaza will become the third bishop of San Carlos after it
was erected diocese in March 1987," the CBCP said.
It
added Alminaza is Pope Francis’ second appointment to the Philippine Catholic
hierarchy since he was elected pope last March.
A
date for his installation has yet to be set, however.
The
San Carlos diocese has been in a period of “sede vacante” since January 2012,
when Jose Advincula was installed archbishop of Capiz, the CBCP noted.
The
CBCP said Alminaza, 54, was born in San Jose in Sipalay, Negros Occidental, and
is the head convenor of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group. He was ordained
for Bacolod diocese in April 1986 at age 27, and was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of Jaro, Iloilo in June 2008.
Alminaza
studied Philosophy at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod and completed his
Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
He
pursued post-graduate studies at Fordham University in New York and obtained
his Doctorate in Educational Management at the University of Negros Occidental
in Bacolod City.
San
Carlos Diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Jaro and serves around one
million Catholics.
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