MANILA, Oct. 15, 2013— Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Romblon.
Fr. Narciso Abellana of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) will be Romblon’s fifth bishop after it was erected into a diocese in December 1974.
Abellana succeeds Bishop Jose Corazon Tala-oc who was transferred to the Diocese of Aklan in July 2011.
The appointment was officially announced in Rome today, Oct. 15 at 12 noon (6pm Manila time).
The bishop-elect is currently the chaplain of the Central Luzon State University in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.
Abellana was ordained priest on December 28, 1978 and has been a missionary for almost 35 years now.
He took his seminary formation at the Loyola School of Theology and also earned his Licentiate in Church History at the Gregorian University in Rome.
No date has been set yet for the episcopal ordination of Abellana and his installation as the new bishop of Romblon. (CBCPNews)
