TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – After more than a year, the Archdiocese of Palo has Most Reverend John Forrosuelo Du as its new archbishop.
Du was installed as the eighth bishop or the fourth archbishop of Palo during the Installation and Canonical Possession rites on Wednesday (May 9) at the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration in Palo, Leyte.
Du succeeded Archbishop Jose S. Palma, who was installed Archbishop of Cebu on January 13 last year. During the transition, the Palo Archdiocese was administered by Rev. Msgr. Jaime Villanueva. The archdiocese jurisdiction covers Leyte with suffragan dioceses of Calbayog, Borongan and Catarman in Samar.
The installation rites was administered by Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, who first directed Rev. Ric Marpa, chancellor of the Palo Archdiocese, to read the Apostolic Letter, or the Papal Bull, of Pope Benedict XVI appointing Du the metropolitan archbishop of Palo.
Pinto then invited Du to sit on the Cathedra, the archdiocesan throne, to the rousing applause from the assembly and the crowd. This was followed by greetings and messages by the bishops present, government officials and representatives of various religious and lay groups.
After the reading of the Gospel, His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, archbishop emeritus of Cebu, delivered his Homily.
The installation was preceded by a procession, after which Du was received at the Cathedral doors by Rev. Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, rector of the Cathedral with members of the College of Consultors and Presbyteral Council.
Du arrived Palo, Leyte from Dumaguete City where he served as bishop of the diocese there. He passed by Ormoc City where he was welcomed by Mayor Eric Codilla and wife Judila. Du first visited the Saints Peter and Paul Church in Ormoc. Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria accompanied Du’s travel up to his new assignment in Palo.
Thousands of guests, consisting of priests, sisters, seminarians and the faithful, from the different dioceses in country came to witness the installation rites of Du.
Prominent among them were Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, archbishop emeritus of Manila, and Cebu Archbishop Palma, president of the CBCP, and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, both future cardinals of the country.
Du is the eighth bishop of Palo or the fourth archbishop since the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese. He was born on October 18, 1954 in Bantayan Island of Cebu to Silvino Ybañez Du and Paciencia Esscala Forrosuelo.
Du obtained his AB Philosophy at the San Carlos Serminary College in Cebu City, and his BS Theology at the Divine Word Seminary. His sacerdotal ordination, as a priest, was on June 1, 1979 in Cebu City while his episcopal ordination, as a bishop, was on January 6, 1998 at the Metropolitan Cathedral, also in Cebu City.
Prior to Du, the bishops of Palo were the following: Manuel Mascariñas, Lino Gonzaga, Teotimo Pacis, Manuel Salvador, and then archbishops Cipriano Urgel, Pedro Dean and Palma, the last two of whom are still living. (FREEMAN)