It was on October 2, 1995 when Most Reverend Midyphil Billones was ordained to priesthood at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral in Iloilo City.

It was also in the same cathedral where he was ordained as a bishop in August 2019.

He was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

After over five years, Arch. Billones has returned to Jaro for his installment as the seventh archbishop of the Archdiocese of Jaro.

The canonical procession is deemed a homecoming for Billones.

The formal installation was carried out morning on Tuesday, April 2, 2025.

The appointment letter signed by Pope Francis was read out loud before hundreds of parishioners and other churchgoers, members of the clergy, and religious laity.

Archbishop-Emeritus Jose Romeo Lazo’s farewell to the archbishop seat was also witnessed by the attendees, and its formal turnover to Billones.

“Salamat. Nawa’y patuloy kayong magdasal at magmahal sa inyong bagong tagapagbantay,” Lazo said.

A few parishioners were given the opportunity to meet personally the new archbishop before the start of the Holy Mass.

One of them is Hidelisa Mana-ay from Janiuay town in the Province of Iloilo.

“I feel elated because you see, in my whole life, this is the first time I have attended the incoming, and yesterday the bidding of goodbye and welcome of Archbishop Billones,” Mana-ay recounted.

During the Holy Mass celebrated by Billones, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, a fellow Ilonggo, in his homily thanked Billones for his service to the  Archdiocese of Cebu in the last five years.

According to Billones, accepting the appointment did not come as a breeze, as he himself witnessed the struggles of the late Archbishop Alberto Piamonte and Archbishop Angel Lagdameo to whom he had served as secretary.

However, he said, he trusts in the Lord’s grace to keep going.

“To be honest, I saw how they suffered intensely. And this caused hesitations. Yet I also saw on how they dedicated to go loving and this caused me to hold my grounds steady. But above all, I saw how God’s grace, work for the good of the Church for their own church,” Billones said.

On the evening of April 1, 2025, a “velada” was carried out at the Saint Vincent Ferrer Seminary.

A “velada” is a night meeting for thanksgiving through singing done by priests and the laity.