Boholano priest named as 8th Bishop of Tagbilaran

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Most Rev. Crispin “Bai” Barrete Varquez, D.D., as the eighth Bishop of Tagbilaran, bringing back to Bohol a priest who spent much of his early ministry in the diocese.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran announced the appointment on Thursday, describing it as more than the arrival of a new shepherd but a “homecoming” for one of its own.

Varquez, 65, was born on Dec. 5, 1960, in Barangay Calinginan Sur, Sevilla, Bohol. He began his priestly formation at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Tagbilaran, where he earned a degree in philosophy, before pursuing theology at St. Augustine Major Seminary in Tagaytay, Cavite.

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He was ordained to the priesthood on April 14, 1989.

His first assignment was in Mindoro, where he served as an assistant parish priest. He later devoted much of his ministry to the formation of seminarians, serving as a formator at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Tagbilaran and St. Augustine Major Seminary in Tagaytay from the 1990s until 2000.

He subsequently served as parish priest in several parishes in the Diocese of Tagbilaran. In January 2007, he was appointed vicar general, becoming closely involved in the pastoral and administrative affairs of the diocese.

His ministry eventually took him beyond Bohol.

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On Aug. 4, 2007, Varquez was appointed Bishop of Borongan. He received his episcopal ordination later that year and was installed as the sixth Bishop of Borongan, beginning nearly two decades of ministry in Eastern Samar.

As Bishop of Borongan, he served the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the diocese and accompanied the local Church in its pastoral mission.

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Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy welcomed Varquez’s appointment.

“Kalipay natong tanan (Happiness for all of us),” Uy said in a Facebook post. 

Uy served as Bishop of Tagbilaran before Pope Leo XIV appointed him Archbishop of Cebu in September 2025, leaving the Bohol diocese without a bishop.

In March 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed then-Father Gerardo Saco Jr. as Bishop of Tagbilaran. However, Saco later relinquished the appointment, citing a change of heart after prayer and personal limitations.

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Varquez’s appointment now ends the vacancy and brings to the Diocese of Tagbilaran a bishop who was formed, ordained and served in the local Church before being called to lead another diocese. /mr