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CEBU, Philippines – Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Midyphil “Dodong” Billones has been appointed by Pope Francis as the new archbishop of Jaro.
The appointment came during the feast of the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Jaro or Our Lady of Candles, the patroness of Jaro.
Bishop Billones held a fiesta mass earlier today at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral. He was ordained a priest in Jaro on October 2, 1995. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu on July 16, 2019.
With the installation of former Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Ruben Labajo as the bishop of the Diocese of Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur last January 28, Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma is left with no auxiliary bishop. Palma will turn 75 in March, the mandatory retirement age of bishops.
Billones is the 14th archbishop of Jaro, according to CBCP News. The Archdiocese of Jaro covers Iloilo City and Province as well as Guimaras. He will replace now-retired Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo, who is 76. Pope Francis has accepted Lazo’s resignation, according to CBCP News.
Billiones helped work on a still-pending proposal to break up the Archdiocese of Cebu into three new territories. He will take over an archdiocese that is also waiting for Vatican approval for its proposal to break up into three territories — Jaro, Miag-ao, and Barotac Viejo. They had initially proposed four new territories but the proposal was returned by the Vatican.
According to CBCP News, Billiones studied at the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City and Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City. He served as personal secretary of Archbishops Alberto Piamonte and Angel Lagdameo. He earned a Doctorate in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2011. He also served as rector of St. Joseph Regional Seminary of Jaro. – Rappler.com
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