Pope elevates Libmanan Prelature to full diocese

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Benedict XVI elevated the Prelature of Libmanan into a full diocese, in the province of Camarines Sur, and appointed as its bishop, Jose Rojas, 52, until now Bishop-Prelate of said ecclesiastical territory.

The Pope reportedly elevated the Prelature of Libmanan into the status of a diocese and with it appointed its first bishop. The CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said that the National Office of Mass Media announced that as of 7 p.m. Wednesday, the Prelature of Libmanan has become a diocese.

The 52-year-old Bishop-Prelate Rojas was recognized as its first bishop. Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, the Pope’s envoy to the Philippines, made the announcement. – Evelyn Macairan