Claretian priest appointed as new Cubao prelate

MANILA, Philippines —  After 21 years, churchgoers in the Diocese of Cubao will hear a different bishop's name during the Eucharistic prayers, where the Pope, bishop, and clergy are invoked for blessings.

This change comes after Pope Francis appointed Elias Ayuban, a priest of the Claretian missionaries, as the new bishop of Cubao. He will be the second bishop of the 21-year-old diocese.

According to the Vatican Press Office, the Pope appointed Ayuban as the bishop of Cubao on October 4 (Manila time), following the pontiff’s acceptance of the resignation of former Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, 75, who had occupied the apostolic seat of Cubao since its founding in 2003.

“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Cubao, Philippines, presented by Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco,” the Vatican Press Office’s statement read. 

“The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. Elias L. Ayuban, C.M.F., until now provincial superior of the Filipino Claretian province, as bishop of Cubao, Philippines,” it added.

Ayuban will now govern the diocese which has an ecclesiastical jurisdiction on the southern part of Quezon City.

Under the Canon Law, the mandatory retirement age of a bishop is 75 years old.

Ongtioco, who has been the prelate of Cubao since its founding, will turn 76 in October. 

Who is Bishop-elect Ayuban?

Ayuban is the third bishop from the Claretian missionaries, after Bishop Leo Dalmao, who currently leads the Prelature of Isabela de Basilan, according to a news release of the Archdiocese of Manila.

The first Claretian bishop is José María Querejeta, the first prelate of Basilan who is of Spanish descent. 

Prior to his appointment, Ayuban served as the provincial superior of the Claretian missionaries in the Philippines since 2019.

According to the website of the Claretian missionaries, Ayuban was ordained as a priest in 1996 in Quezon City. Since then, he has served in several roles, including provincial superior of a Claretian province that covers the Philippines, Australia Vietnam, and Myanmar.

He is an expert in Canon Law or the law which governs the ecclesiastical matters of the church and its people as he has a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. 

Due to this, Ayuban has been teaching in different institutions such as the University of Santo Tomas and Maryhill School of Theology. He was also an ecclesiastical judge at the Diocesan Tribunal of Novaliches and a respected author of canonical texts and procedural guides for religious institutes.