Pope taps Iloilo priest as Cebu bishop

MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis has appointed Iloilo priest Fr. Midyphil Billones as auxiliary bishop of Cebu to assist Archbishop Jose Palma who also hails from Iloilo province.

As auxiliary bishop, he will assist Palma in running the largest archdiocese in the country and in Asia, having the most number of Catholics, priests, nuns and seminarians.

According to CBCPNews, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Billones’ appointment, which assigns him to the Titular See of Tagarata, came two months after Palma’s lone auxiliary bishop Dennis Villarojo was named bishop of Malolos.

Seminary rector

The bishop-elect is currently the Rector of St. Joseph Regional Seminary in Iloilo City.

Billones, who just turned 50 years old on July 4, is a native of Capiz province.

He took his Philosophy at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City and Theology at Loyola School of Theology in Manila, where he also obtained his master’s degree in Theology.

Billones was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Jaro in 1995 while Palma was rector of the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary where Palma also studied for the priesthood.

Palma has been a bishop in various capacities wince Pope John Paul II appointed him in 1997. In 1999, Palma was made bishop of Calbayog.