CEBU Auxiliary Bishop Julito Cortes, parish priest of Sto. Rosario Parish in Cebu City, was appointed by Pope Francis as the new bishop of Dumaguete. His appointment was posted on the Facebook account of Fr. Jan Limchua, a close friend of the bishop.
The 57-year-old bishop was born in Parañaque on July 4, 1956. He finished his philosophical studies at the San Carlos Seminary College in Cebu.
Cortes obtained a licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Central Theological Seminary of Pontifical University Santo Tomas in Manila.
He received his Master of Arts in Education degree from the same university and obtained a doctorate in theology at the Angelicum in Rome. Cortes was ordained priest on October 24, 1980.
He became a teacher and then headmaster of St. Joseph Seminary and later on the vice chancellor of the Diocese of Dumaguete.
Cortes was appointed Rector of St. Joseph Seminary as well as the vicar general of the Diocese of Dumaguete.
He was also elected diocesan administrator during the sede vacante following the transfer of Bishop Angel Lagdameo. On October 24, 2001, he was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Cebu. Limchua expressed elation at what Bishop Cortes has become. “May the Lord truly guide him as he continues to be an instrument of his grace to others,” said Limchua in his FB account./Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol