MANILA, Oct. 12, 2012— Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a new bishop for the Diocese of Laoag in Ilocos Norte.
Filling the post, which has been vacant since August 2011, is current Lingayen-Dagupan Auxiliary Bishop Renato Mayugba.
Bishop Renato Mayugba
The appointment was made public in the Vatican on Friday, October 12, at 12 noon (6pm, Manila time).
The 56-year old bishop will succeed Archbishop Sergio Utleg who was appointed to head the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao in June 2011.
Mayugba was born December 4, 1955. He entered the priesthood on April 25, 1981. His episcopal ordination was on December 27, 2005.
No date yet has been set for the installation of the new bishop of Laoag with around half-a-million Catholics.
Meanwhile, Infanta Bishop Rolando Tirona, 66, will be officially installed as the new archbishop of Caceres at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Naga City on November 14.
Last Sept, 8. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Tirona to take over the archdiocese from retired Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi, 76, who led more than one million Catholics in Camarines Sur for 28 years.
Several members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and local government leaders are expected to grace the occasion.
The archbishop-elect was born on July 22, 1946 in Sampaloc, Manila. In 1967, he professed as a member of Order of Discalced Carmelites. He was ordained a priest on April 21, 1974.
In November 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Manila. He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Malolos in January 1996. In December 1996, he was named bishop of Malolos.
It was on June 28, 2003 when the pope appointed him bishop of Infanta. [RL/CBCPNews]
