MANILA, (PNA) — Pope Francis on Tuesday named the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Romblon.
In an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website, the appointment of Fr. Narciso Abellana of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) to head the Romblon Diocese was announced by the Holy Father in Rome on Oct. 15 at 12 noon (6 pm Manila time).
Abellana will be serving as the fifth prelate after it was erected into a diocese in December 1974.
He will succeed Bishop Jose Corazon Tala-oc who was transferred to the Diocese of Aklan in July 2011.
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 while he 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.