His Holiness Pope Francis appointed Bishop Ruperto Santos of the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Antipolo.
The announcement was made by the Vatican on May 23, after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Antipolo Bishop Francisco De Leon.
Born on October 30, 1957, in San Rafael, Bulacan, in the diocese of Malolos, Bishop Santos attended courses in philosophy and theology at the San Carlos Seminary and was. He was ordained a priest on September 10, 1983, for the Archdiocese of Manila.
After ordination, he first served as deputy parish priest of the Immaculate Conception in Metro Manila, chaplain of the Pasig Catholic College in Metro Manila (1983-1986), and parish priest in Maybugna (1986).
He was awarded a licentiate in history from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1987-1990), and went on to hold the offices of professor of Church history at the San Carlos Seminary of Manila (1990-1995), and superior and subsequently rector of the Pontifical Filipino College in Rome.
The 65-year-old priest was appointed bishop of Balanga on April 1, 2010, and received episcopal consecration the following June 24.
Within the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, he is the regional representative in the Permanent Council, chairman of the Commission for the Pontifical Filipino College, and vice-chairman of the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and itinerant people
According to CBCP News, no date has yet been set for the installation of Santos as the fifth bishop of Antipolo, home of the newly declared International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. (By Jheng Prado/RCAM-AOC | Photo Credit: CBCP News)
