MANILA, Philippines – Pope Francis named Father Herman Guinto Abcede, a Bicolano canon lawyer, as the new bishop of the Diocese of Daet in Camarines Norte.
He will replace Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon, who served as bishop of Daet from March 2019 until February 2024, when the Pope moved him to the much bigger Archdiocese of Caceres based in Naga City.
The Vatican announced this appointment on Tuesday evening, March 4 (Manila time), as the Pope was still confined at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for double pneumonia.
A Vatican department is responsible for screening new bishops — a process that can take months or even over a year — but only the Pope can approve appointments. Known for working long hours, the 88-year-old Francis is said to be working in the hospital, signing documents, issuing messages, and meeting his closest collaborators.
Abcede, 59, will be leading a diocese of around 630,000 Catholics in the province of Camarines Norte.
He is a member of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus, a Catholic religious order founded in 1897 by Saint Hannibal Mary Di Francia. The Rogationists focus on attracting more men and women to be priests and nuns, as well as helping the poor and the youth, including orphans.
Before his appointment, he was the community superior at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Parañaque City.
He was also the provincial superior of the Rogationists’ Saint Matthew Province from 2010 to 2018. The province is composed of Rogationists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the United States.
“Let us pray to the Lord of the harvest to accompany him in his ministry of shepherding the flock and serving the Church through his new office,” said the Rogationists’ Saint Matthew Province in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening.
The new bishop was born in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, on April 13, 1965, and attended Vinzons Pilot High School. He earned his philosophy degree at the University of Santo Tomas, and studied philosophy and theology at the Rogationist Seminary of Manila and Don Bosco School of Theology in Parañaque City, respectively.
He later earned his licentiate in canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.
Since 2018, Abcede has been a member of the Diocese of Parañaque’s matrimonial tribunal, which handles church annulment cases. He has been a judge of this tribunal since 2021. – Rappler.com