Pope Francis names new bishop of Bontoc-Lagawe

MANILA, Philippines–Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop to the Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe.

Bishop-elect Fr. Valentin Dimoc, whose appointment was announced by the Vatican on Wednesday, will be the fifth bishop of the vicariate.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe covers the two provinces of Ifugao and Mountain Province, which combined have a Catholic population of 51 percent.

Dimoc is currently the vicariate’s social action and development center director and rector of the Mission Station of Ayangan.

With his appointment, Dimoc will be the 133rd member of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), of whom 94 are active and 39 are retired prelates.

According to a post on CBCP News, the vicariate had been without a bishop since January 2013 after Bishop Rodolfo Beltran, who served there for seven years, was installed as bishop of La Union.

For two years, the vicariate had been under the care of Fr. Joseph Requino who was named administrator by the Vatican.

No date has been set for the episcopal ordination and installation of Dimoc as bishop of Bontoc-Lagawe.