Pope Francis appoints Bishop Bagaforo to Diocese of Kidapawan

POPE Francis has appointed Bishop Colin Bagaforo as bishop of the Diocese of Kidapawan in Cotabato.

In a post on its news website, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said the announcement was made on Monday evening.

The date of Bagaforo’s installation as the new Kidapawan bishop will be announced later.

It may be recalled that the Diocese of Kidapawan had no bishop since March 2014 after Bishop Romulo de la Cruz was appointed Archbishop of Zamboanga.

Prior to his appointment, the 62-year-old native of Cotabato City was the auxiliary bishop of the  Archdiocese of Cotabato since his episcopal ordination in April 2006.

Bagaforo was ordained a priest in March 1980, having finished theology at the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary in Davao City.

Before becoming a bishop, he was president of Notre Dame of Tacurong College and vicar general of the Archbishop of Cotabato.

In the CBCP, he was appointed vice chair of the Episcopal Commission on Health Care from 2009 to 2011 and vice chair of the Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue from 2013 to 2015.