New Cagayan de Oro archbishop to be installed
Archbishop-elect Jose Cabantan of Cagayan de Oro. PHOTO BY BRENDA P. MILAN
By CBCP News
August 1, 2020
Manila, Philippines
The incoming archbishop of Cagayan de Oro is to take up his new role officially this month.
Archbishop-elect Jose Cabantan, 63, will take over as the fifth holder of the office on Aug. 28, the feast of the city’s patron Saint Augustine.
The outgoing bishop of Malaybalay succeeds Jesuit Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, 77, who retired in June 2020.
Cabantan will be installed by Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Augustine.
The Mass will include the imposition of the pallium to be conferred also by Cardinal Quevedo.
The pallium is a liturgical insignia made of white wool only worn by the pope and by archbishops. The pope uses it to symbolize the plenitude of the pontifical office.
For archbishops, it signifies the authority given to them by the pope over their respective archdioceses, particularly their bond and shared responsibility with the pontiff to be pastors in their regions.
Pope Francis on June 23 appointed Cabantan to lead the southern Philippine archdiocese with more than a million Catholics in 62 parishes.
The archdiocese covers the suffragan dioceses of Butuan, Malaybalay, Surigao and Tandag.
The city is among the areas under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) status where churches can hold services at 50 percent capacity.
The archdiocese reminded the visitors who will be coming from outside Region 10 to secure a medical certificate upon travel, “as this is the health protocol in the city”.
New archbishop finds strength in ‘monastic prayer’
Archbishop-elect Jose Cabantan of Cagayan de Oro. BRENDA P. MILAN
By Ryan Christopher J. Sorote
June 25, 2020
There is nothing more powerful than prayer – and for a Catholic bishop, monastic prayer is one of his most potent sources of spiritual grace.
Outgoing Malaybalay Bishop Jose Cabantan said praying in various monasteries in the diocese offered him a new source of strength in his episcopal ministry.
“The greater are our responsibilities, greater is our need for prayer,” Cabantan said. “I am privileged here with the presence of monasteries where I can spend a period of solitude, reflection and prayer.”
Pope Francis on June 23 has appointed Cabantan as the new archbishop of his native archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.
He will replace the 77-year-old and Jesuit Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, whose resignation was accepted by the pope.
Cabantan said the appointment was unexpected, adding that his “unworthiness” for the post brought him to “rely solely” on God’s “love and mercy”.
Meeting with clergy
The archbishop-elect said he will soon meet with the clergy of the archdiocese to assess their situation amidst the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is good to listen also to where they are now as an archdiocese; their ministries, direction and above all to listen to where the Spirit leads us in the midst of this pandemic,” he said.
Cabantan said he also plans to replicate Malaybalay’s diocesan pastoral assemblies, a consultative activity that has been existing for the past 50 years since the time of the late Jesuit Bishop Francisco Claver, the diocese’s first shepherd.
“The pastoral life here in Malaybalay is given life through the diocesan pastoral assemblies, priests and religious assemblies, the different ministries, where communion and participation is upheld that help sustain the fire of fulfilling God’s mission,” he added.
Installation
Bishop Cabantan will be installed as the fifth archbishop of Cagayan de Oro on August 28, during the feast of St. Augustine of Hippo, the patron saint of the city.
The archdiocese covers the suffragan dioceses of Butuan, Malaybalay, Surigao, and Tandag.
The Vatican has yet to announce Cabantan’s successor in the Malaybalay diocese, which has over a million Catholics in 54 parishes.
“We need to pray to the Holy Spirit to send a new shepherd here in the diocese,” he said.
Pope appoints new archbishop of Cagayan de Oro
Archbishop-elect Jose Cabantan of Cagayan de Oro. COURTESY OF BRENDA P. MILAN
By CBCP News
June 23, 2020
Manila, Philippines
Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Jose Cabantan as the next archbishop of Cagayan de Oro.
Cabantan, who currently serves as bishop of Malaybalay, will replace Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, who has retired at the age of 77.
The appointment was made in Rome at 12 noon Tuesday or 6pm in the Philippines.
Cabantan, 63, was born in Lagonglong town in Misamis Oriental, and ordained priest at the age of 32 for the Cagayan de Oro archdiocese.
The bishop took a “late vocation” after a few years of working as a licensed chemical engineer.
As priest, he led for several years the archdiocese’s social action center before he was named Malaybalay bishop by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.
The archbishop-elect also holds a degree in Pastoral Ministry from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Cagayan de Oro and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Loyola School of Theology in Manila.
In the Philippine bishops’ conference, Cabantan currently heads the Committee on Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs).
