Pope Francis appoints Filipino priest to head Japan diocese

A Filipino missionary priest has been chosen by Pope Francis to head the diocese of Sendai in Japan, according to a post on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

Fr. Edgar Gacutan, 57, served as parish priest of Matsubara Catholic Church in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.

Gacutan, who hails from Enrile town in Cagayan province, studied Philosophy at St. Louis University in Baguio City from 1981 to 1985 and Theology at Maryhill School of Theology in Manila from 1986 to 1989.

As a seminarian, was transferred to Japan in February 1990 and after three years of internship returned to Manila to complete his theology studies.

Gacutan was ordained priest of the CICM in 1994 and was sent back to Japan where he served as an assistant pastor in Kongo church, Osaka from 1994 to 1997, then joined the team ministry in Osaka for 6 years until 2003.

In 2004, he was appointed superior of the Japanese CICM Province and served until 2012.

From 2014 to 2017, he was assigned to Sendai and worked for the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

The CBCP post states that Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku Region and one of Japan's 15 biggest cities with roughly one million inhabitants. -- BAP, GMA News