San Jose bishop appointed new head of Tarlac Diocese

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Roberto Mallari, the current bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in Nueva Ecija, as the new bishop of the Diocese of Tarlac.

Mallari, 66, becomes the fourth bishop of the Tarlac Diocese, succeeding the late Bishop Enrique Macaraeg, who passed away in October 2023.

Mallari's appointment was announced on Sunday, coinciding with the Feast of the Holy Family.

“With hearts filled with both joy and a sense of loss, the Diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija, announces that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has appointed our beloved Bishop, His Excellency Most Rev. Robert Callara Mallari, DD, as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Tarlac,” the diocese stated in a Facebook post.

As the new head of Tarlac’s Catholic community, Mallari will oversee a diocese comprising around 60 parishes and a Catholic population exceeding 1.2 million.

Mallari has been bishop of the San Jose diocese since May 2012.

Born in Masantol, Pampanga, he completed his seminary formation at San Carlos Seminary in Makati City and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in November 1982.

His early ministry included serving as spiritual director at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary in Pampanga from 1983 to 1987 and 1989 to 1994.

In January 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him auxiliary bishop of San Fernando, with episcopal ordination following in March of that year.

Mallari has also held key leadership roles, including chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and head of the Office of Social Communications of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). — DVM, GMA Integrated News