Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma appoints Monsignori Vicente Rey Penagunda and Daniel Sanico vicar generals of Cebu Archdiocese. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma appointed two new vicar generals to assist him in the governance of the archdiocese.
He named Monsignori Vicente Rey Penagunda and Daniel Sanico who assumed their posts last Sunday.
“They will act as my right hand and will represent me whenever I’m out of Cebu,” said Palma during the installation Mass and ceremony held at the the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City.
Under the Canon Law, the rules governing the Catholic Church, a vicar general possesses the same executive power as the bishop in the archdiocese.
Prior to their appointment, Palma’s new deputies were nominated by priests in the Archdiocese of Cebu. Aside from their functions as vicar generals, the two new appointees also have other assignments in the archdiocese.
Penagunda is currently the rector of the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos while Sanico serves as the team moderator of the National Shrine of St. Joseph.
The two monsignori replaced Bishop Julito Cortes, DD, Bishop Emilio Bataclan, DD, Msgr. Cayetano Gelbolingo, Msgr. Rolando Jimenez, and Msgr. Roberto F. Alesna.
Palma, in an earlier interview, said the changes in assignments are not meant to demote or promote priests but “to give others a chance” as the Church continues its mission.
The archbishop also reshuffled diocesan priests in Cebu from late last year until last June. Churches with a large number of parishioners were given a “team ministry” composed of three priests with one acting as a team moderator.