New archbishop appointed for Davao by Pope Leo XIV

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed a new archbishop of the Archdiocese of Davao, the Holy See Press Office announced.

"The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Davao, Philippines, presented by Archbishop Romulo G. Valles," the press office said in a statement.

"The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Abel Cahiles A. Apigo as metropolitan archbishop of Davao, Philippines, transferring him from the diocese of Mati," it added.

Archbishop-elect Abel Cahiles A. Apigo was born on the 21st of May, 1968 in Calinan, Davao City.

He studied philosophy at the Saint Francis Xavier College Seminary in Davao City and theology at the Saint Francis Xavier Major Seminary in Davao City.

He was then awarded a licentiate in Church history at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Apigo was ordained a priest on April 18, 1994 for the Davao archdiocese and since held several positions, including parish vicar at the Cathedral San Pedro in Davao City (1994-1996), pastoral director (1996-1997), professor (2000-2001), coordinator (2001-2002), vice rector and dean (2002-2006) and finally rector (since 2006) of the Saint Francis Xavier Major Regional Seminary of Davao City, and episcopal vicar for the clergy of the archdiocese (since 2014).

Bishop Apifo was appointed bishop of Mati on February 10, 2018, receiving episcopal consecration on the following in April 2018.

He is a member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines' (CBCP) Commission on Doctrine of the Faith and the Commission on Liturgy.

CBCP News reported that Archbishop Valles, 75, reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops.

He led the Archdiocese of Davao for about 14 years and served as CBCP President from December 2017 to November 2021. — BAP, GMA News