Du to be Archbishop of Palo

CEBU, Philippines - On Wednesday, the Canonical Installation at the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral will officially elevate Bishop Forrosuelo Du to being an archbishop.

Du, a native of Bantayan Island, Cebu will become Palo, Leyte’s fourth archbishop, a position vacated for over a year by current Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.

Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, will lead the installation which is expected to gather several bishops nationwide headed by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Palma himself.

Once installed, Du will lead around 1.2 million Catholics in Palo. The Archdiocese of Palo has 63 parishes, one chaplaincy, and 13 mission stations.

Du, 57, will become Palo’s fourth Archbishop since the province became an archdiocese in 1982. Du succeeded Archbishops Cipriano Urgel, Pedro Dean, and then Palma.

Du, who became a priest in June 1, 1979, served in the Archdiocese of Cebu as a seminary formator. He became the director of the Spiritual Pastoral Formation Year Program until he became Cebu’s Auxiliary Bishop in 1997. He was also assigned as parish priest of Sto. Rosario Parish, Cebu City.

He is the bishop of Dumaguete since 2011 and currently treasurer of the Catholics Bishop Conference of the Philippines with Palma as the president.

Palma called on the Catholics in Palo to give Du the same cooperation and respect they have given him during his stint as archbishop.

He also advised Du to strengthen efforts extended by the lay people and the community to the Church.  (FREEMAN)