Pope appoints Jaro auxiliary bishop

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Benedict XVI had appointed a seminary rector as the new auxiliary bishop of Jaro in Iloilo, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Friday afternoon. In a statement on its website, the CBCP said Jaro archbishop and CBCP president Angel Lagdameo said Fr. Gerardo Alminaza presently heads the Sacred Heart Seminary. Lagdameo said that with his appointment by the Pope, Alminaza has been elevated to the episcopate. Alminaza is also the director for Spiritual and Pastoral Formation Year of Seminarians at the St. Joseph Regional Seminary at Barangay Cubay, Iloilo City. Alminaza was born in San Jose, Sipalay, Negros Occidental on August 14, 1959. He studied Philosophy at Sacred Heart Seminar in Bacolod and completed his Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He had his post graduate studies at Fordham University in New York and obtained his Doctorate in Educational Management at the University of Negros Occidental in Bacolod City. He was ordained priest on April 29, 1986 for the Diocese of Bacolod. He was assigned Parochial Vicar of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Kabankalan and served as Dean of Students and Spiritual Director prior to his nomination as Rector of Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod City. Alminaza is also Chairman of the Commission on Clergy of the Diocese of Bacolod. The new bishop-elect said he received the news of his elevation to the episcopate with "mixed feelings" but expressed "happiness for the opportunity to serve the bigger church." He said he is thankful to God and the Holy Father for the chance to serve in a different capacity. "I am also thankful to the Diocese of Bacolod for nurturing and shaping my life as a priest," the new bishop added. - GMANews.TV