The Vatican has named Fr. Midyphil Billones as the new auxiliary Bishop of Cebu. | CBCP News website photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The Archdiocese of Cebu has a new auxiliary bishop.
The Vatican named on Tuesday, July 16, Fr. Midyphil Billones of Iloilo City as the new auxillary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cebu.
Billones, 50, is the current Rector of the St. Joseph Regional Seminary in Iloilo City.
A native of Panay, Capiz, Billones earned his degree in Philosophy at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City and his degree of Theology at Loyola School of Theology in Manila.
He was ordained into priesthood in October 1995 and served as the parochial vicar of the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral in Iloilo for two years.
He later served as personal secretary to the late Archbishop Jover Piamonte and to retired Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
Billones’ appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu came two months after the Vatican installed Bishop Dennis Villarojo as Bishop of Malolos, Bulacan.
Read more: Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu asks Cebuanos to pray for him as he prepares for his new mission
Villarojo was Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma’s lone auxiliary bishop.
Read more: Villarojo, Florencio named auxiliary bishops of Cebu
As an auxiliary bishop, Billones will assist Palma in running the Archdiocese of Cebu which is considered the largest in Asia in terms of population of Catholics, priests and religious people or those, who are members of religious orders and under monastic vows like the nuns./dbs