Pope appoints Iba bishop

MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Bartolome Santos Jr. as bishop of Iba, Zambales, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) announced over the weekend.

The diocese has been without bishop for about four years.

“Santos will succeed Archbishop Florentino Labaras, who was appointed to the Archdiocese of San Fernando in Pampanga in 2014,” the CBCP said.

Santos is the vicar general and moderator of the Malolos diocese in Bulacan.

He has been serving as rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela City since 2009.

Ordained in 1992, Santos went to Rome in 1996 and studied Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.