Labajo named first bishop of Diocese of Prosperidad

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu auxiliary bishop, Ruben Labajo, has been appointed by Pope Francis as the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur. The Vatican announced the appointment Tuesday, October 15.

The new diocese, which comprises the province of Agusan del Sur, was carved out of the 57-year-old Diocese of Butuan, which now covers only Agusan del Norte.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News reported that the pope’s decision to split the Butuan diocese into two stemmed from a petition filed by Bishop Cosme Damian Almedilla of Butuan in 2023.

The division was previously described by Almedilla as a “strategic move” to foster the spiritual growth of the faithful and to improve administrative efficiency. Almedilla said that Agusal del Sur is considered as a “missionary frontier” considering its far-flung communities spread across the mountainous province with about one-third of the population are indigenous people.

Prosperidad will be the country’s 87th diocese and will be a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro. It has a population of nearly 800,000, of whom around 486,000 are Catholics spread across 26 parishes, 1 quasi-parish, and 3 mission stations. It also has 32 diocesan priests, 29 religious priests, and 6 sisters. — (FREEMAN)