Pope Francis appoints new Romblon bishop

Fr. Narciso Abellana of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart has been appointed by Pope Francis as Romblon’s fifth bishop, succeeding Bishop Jose Corazon Tala-oc, who was transferred to the Diocese of Aklan in July 2011, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. PHOTO FROM CBCPNEWS.COM

MANILA, Philippines—Pope Francis has appointed a new bishop for the Diocese of Romblon, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Fr. Narciso Abellana of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart will be Romblon’s fifth bishop, succeeding Bishop Jose Corazon Tala-oc, who was transferred to the Diocese of Aklan in July 2011.

Abellana’s appointment was officially announced in Rome last Tuesday, the CBCP said.

No date has been set yet for the episcopal ordination of Abellana and his installation as the new bishop of Romblon, it said.

The bishop-elect is the current chaplain of the Central Luzon State University in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. Abellana was ordained in December 1978 and has been a missionary for almost 35 years now.

He took his seminary formation at the Loyola School of Theology and earned his Licentiate in Church History at the Gregorian University in Rome.—Jocelyn R. Uy