Vatican announces appointment of new Jaro auxiliary bishop

Pope Benedict XVI Thursday announced the appointment of a new auxiliary bishop in Jaro, Iloilo City.

The Vatican, through the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams and the National Office of Mass Media, announced Rev. Father Gerardo Alimane Alminaza as the new auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Jaro.

The Archdiocese is under Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, concurrent president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Alminaza is tasked to assist Lagdameo. Alminaza is presently the rector of the Sacred Heart Seminary at the Diocese of Bacolod.

“Fr. Alminaza is the first priest to be raised to the rank of Bishop during the incumbency of Archbishop Adams as the Papal Nuncio,” NOMM executive director Fr. James Reuter S.J. said.

The new bishop said in an interview with CBCPNews that he received the news of his elevation to the episcopate with “mixed feelings” but expressed “happiness for the opportunity to serve the bigger church.”

He is thankful to God and the Holy Father for the chance to serve in a different capacity. He added, “I am also thankful to the Diocese of Bacolod for nurturing and shaping my life as a priest.”

Alminaza was born in San Jose, Sipalay, Negros Occidental on Aug. 14, 1959. He studied Philosophy at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod and completed his Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He had his post graduate studies at Fordham University in New York and obtained his Doctorate in Educational Management at the University of Negros Occidental in Bacolod City.

He was ordained priest on April 29, 1986 for the Diocese of Bacolod. He was assigned Parochial Vicar of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Kabankalan and served as Dean of Students and Spiritual Director prior to his nomination as Rector of Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod City. He is also Chairman of the Commission on Clergy of the Diocese of Bacolod.