Pope names new archbishop of Cagayan de Oro

The National Office of Mass Media (NOMM) announced the appointment of Bishop Antonio Ledesma of the Prelature of Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur as the new head of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro after Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Archbishop Jesus Tuquib.

Fr. James Reuter, NOMM secretary-general, said the 63-year-old Ledesma, concurrent vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), will replace Tuquib, who has reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Reuter also announced the appointment of 53-year-old Msgr. George Rimando as the auxiliary bishop of Davao to assist former CBCP president and Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla.

Rimando is currently the Vicar Forane and administrator of Merville, Tagum, City, Davao del Norte.

Ledesma and Rimando both belong to the Society of Jesus.

No date has been set for the installation of Ledesma as archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, and Rimando as auxiliary bishop of Davao, Reuter said.

Before serving as archbishop of Cagayan de Oro for 18 years, Ledesma was the bishop of Pagadian City for 11 years.

In a statement, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Franco said the Pope accepted Tuquib’s resignation as archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, but in compliance with the Canon Law, he was given a new assignment as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator until a successor is named.

Reuter said Tuquib actually submitted his resignation, in accordance with Canon Law, on his 75th birthday on June 22, 2005.

But Reuter said Tuquib’s resignation was accepted only last March 4.

"He will remain as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro until the installation of Bishop Ledesma," he said.

Ledesma, a native of Iloilo, was ordained as priest in 1973 and became a bishop in 1996. He spent 10 years as bishop of Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur.

For his part, Rimando served as the dean and later as rector of the seminary in Tagum City. For five years he was a guest priest in the Archdioceses of New York and Los Angeles in the United States.