Pope Francis names new Imus bishop, his first appointment in PHL

Pope Francis has appointed a Batangueño as the new bishop of the Diocese of Imus in Cavite, according to an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website. It said the appointment of current Boac Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, which was announced Monday, is Pope Francis’ first appointment to the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines since he was chosen to lead the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics last March 14. The Imus diocese has been without a bishop for more than a year after Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who was among the 115 cardinal electors who chose Pope Francis, was installed Archbishop of Manila in December 2011. With Evangelista's transfer to Imus, the Diocese of Boac is now known as a “vacant see” and remains so until the appointment of a new bishop. Evangelista, 52, was born on May 8, 1960 in San Jose, Mabini, Batangas. At 26, he was ordained a priest in June 1986 and was appointed third bishop of Boac in December 2004 by Blessed John Paul II. Evangelista is currently a member of the Permanent Council of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). He also chairs the CBCP’s Commission on Vocations and a member of the Commission on Seminaries. The Imus diocese, which comprises the entire province of Cavite, is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Manila and serves around 2 million Catholics. No date yet has been set for the installation of the new bishop of Imus, the CBCP report said. — KBK, GMA News