Palo folk to welcome new archbishop

The archdiocese of Palo, Leyte is set to welcome its new archbishop, Bishop Jose Palma, who would officially assume his new role on Tuesday.

Officials of the archdiocese said they have prepared a special liturgy rich in symbolism and tradition for Palma’s canonical installation.

Msgr. Ramon Aguillos, media relations officer of the Palo archdiocese, said the event is set at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral.

On the same day, the official decree announcing Palma’s appointment will be read.

Then, the chancellor will present it to the priests and the faithful before he records the event in the archives of the curia.

The outgoing archbishop, Pedro Dean, will then install Palma as the "new shepherd" of the archdiocese, Aguillos said.

The Vatican appointed Palma to succeed Dean, who reached the canonical age of retirement of 75 last February.

Pope Benedict XVI approved Dean’s resignation last March 18.

Palma, 56, will be the third archbishop of Palo since the ecclesiastical see was elevated to an archdiocese in November 1982.

The Palo archdiocese has a population of 1.3 million Catholics, 52 parishes, 144 diocesan and religious priests, and 130 women religious.

Palma, a native of Dingle, Iloilo, was ordained priest in 1976 and became bishop for the diocese of Calbayog in Samar in 1998.

He earned his Licentiate degree in Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary.

He also holds a doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, the Dominicans’ famous pontifical institute.