Columbans name Pinoy as superior

Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Missionary Society of St. Columban recently elected its first Filipino superior general, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said on Friday.

The CBCP said Fr. Andrei Paz, 42, a native of Bangar, La Union, was elected for a six-year term as international leader of the society during its general assembly in Lima, Peru, last month.

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“While I consider it a great honor, I also feel a great sense of responsibility to respond to the trust that has been placed in me,” he said on the society’s YouTube channel.

Ordained in 2009, the Columban priest was first assigned to Taiwan.

He was assigned to the Malate parish in Manila in 2020.

Also elected with Paz as general council members were priests Peters Gerard O’Neill from Australia, Yung In-kim from South Korea, and Salustino Villalobos Mondragon from Peru.