Vatican Appoints New Bishop from Leyte

(PNA) – After nearly three decades, Vatican has appointed a new bishop from the Archdiocese of Palo in Leyte.

Fr. Oscar Llaneta Florencio is currently serving as Rector of the St. John the Evangelist School of Theology (SJEST) in Palo when he got the appoinment.

Palo Archbishop John F. Du said he has already offloaded the responsibilities of bishop-elect Florencio as rector, so he can prepare for his new role.

“I am very happy because after 28 years, a priest from the Archdiocese of Palo has been appointed as bishop by Pope Francis,” said Archbishop John Du.

The Holy See made the announcement on July 3, 2015 at 12noon at the Vatican and 6:00 Manila time.

The last priest of the archdiocese who was appointed as bishop was Most Reverend Leonardo Medroso in 1987, according to Du.

“This is really a gift from God. Being a bishop is the fullness of the priesthood. This is significant because it means our priests can be trusted not only in Palo, but in the universal church,” Du added.

The highest Catholic church official in the province described the bishop elect as humble, calm, mature, people-oriented and a good listener, which are very important traits for the church.

The 49-year old bishop-elect was born in Capoocan, Leyte on February 5, 1966. He spent most of his childhood in Burauen also a town in Leyte when his family moved there.

He completed his studies in philosophy at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Palo and pursued Theology at the University of Sto. Tomas.

He was ordained priest in 1990 and was assigned in the parishes of Abuyog and Dagami from 1990-1993.

He studied in Rome at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross from 1994 to 1999, where he obtained a licentiate and a doctorate in Sacred Theology.

He was appointed professor at the SJEST when he returned from Rome.

For two years he served as parish priest of St. Francis of Assisi Church from 2004 to 2006. He also served as parish priest at Sacred Heart Parish in Tacloban City from 2006 to 2009.

He returned to the theology seminary in 2009 and was also appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the archdiocese. He became rector in 2013.

He was the relief operation coordinator of the Archdiocese of Palo in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

“Please pray for me. I can’t thank the Lord enough for this. This is a gift not only for myself, but for the whole Presbyterium,” Florencio said.

The bishop-elect will be assigned as the auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of Cebu. He will assist Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, who once served as bishop of the Archdiocese of Palo.

The Episcopal Ordination is scheduled on September 10, 2015 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Palo.

He will be officially received by Archbishop Palma on September 12.

Msgr. Dennis Villarojo, who is currently serving at the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish Church in Cebu City, was also appointed as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cebu. (PNA) CTB/SQM/VCA/EGR