Youngest Pinoy bishop to lead Diocese of Iligan

Fr. Jose Rapadas, appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Iligan. PHOTO FROM CBCP WEBSITE

Pope Francis has appointed a 46-year-old priest to be the bishop of the Diocese of Iligan, according to a post on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' (CBCP) website.

The appointment of Fr. Jose Rapadas was announced on Thursday evening at the Vatican City in Italy.

He will be the fifth bishop of Iligan, that has around a million Catholics in 26 parishes.

The last bishop of the Iligan diocese was Bishop Elenito Gallido, who died on December 5, 2017.

Bishop Severo Caermare of Dipolog has been working as apostolic administrator for more than a year.

The last position held by Rapadas was as Vicar General of the Diocese of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay.

The bishop-elect was born in Tondo, Manila. He studied at the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Cagayan de Oro City. He was ordained as a priest in 1999. — BAP, GMA News