Article by:
Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – Father Gerardo Saco Jr. is the new bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News reported that the Vatican announced the new appointment of Pope Leo XIV Wednesday noon in Rome (7 p.m., Manila time).
Archbishop Charles Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, relayed the appointment to the CBCP.
Saco, the diocesan administrator since October 2025, will succeed Archbishop Alberto Uy, who led the diocese for about eight years before his transfer to the Archdiocese of Cebu in September 2025.
Born in Tagbilaran, he studied philosophy at the diocese’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and theology at San Carlos Seminary in Cebu City.
The new head of the Tagbilaran diocese was ordained a priest on April 26, 1993, and previously served as vicar general under Uy. He becomes Tagbilaran’s eighth bishop.
He also headed the diocesan Commission on Social Action and serves as priest-in-charge of St. Vincent Ferrer Mission Station in Barangay Cabawan, Tagbilaran City.
The bishop-elect also led parishes such as Our Lady of Lourdes in Tagbilaran City, Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis, and Holy Cross in Maribojoc. (PNA)
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