MANILA, Philippines - Sixty-three-year-old Bishop Marlo Peralta of Alaminos, Pangasinan has been appointed by Pope Francis as the new archbishop of Nueva Segovia in Ilocos Sur.
The CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), reported that Peralta’s appointment to the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia was issued last Dec. 30 but so far, no date has been set for his installation.
The Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia has an estimated population of 718,000, around 85 percent of them Catholics.
Peralta would replace now retired Archbishop Ernesto Salgado, who just turned 77 last November. Salgado served the archdiocese for eight years.
Peralta was born on July 13, 1950 in San Carlos, Pangasinan. He was ordained a priest at the age of 25 in 1975 and was consecrated as a bishop in 2006.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI appointed Peralta coadjutor bishop of Alaminos on Jan. 14, 2006 and he became bishop of Alaminos by succession on July 1, 2007.