Published July 25, 2021 1:24pm San Roque Cathedral in Caloocan City has been placed under temporary lockdown after a guest priest died on Saturday morning. Fr. Manuel Jadraque Jr (“Fr. Mawe”) of the Mission Society of the Philippines later tested positive for COVID-19 during post-mortem swab testing, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president-elect and Diocese of Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said. “We regret to inform you that the Caloocan City Government’s Covid Command Center has ordered the temporary lockdown of the San Roque Cathedral starting tomorrow, Sunday, July 25, which is supposed to be our celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly People,” he wrote.
Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David (COURTESY OF RYAN REZO/DIOCESE OF KALOOKAN)
CBCP News said the prelate was elected Thursday, July 8, during the bishops’ two-day online plenary assembly.
David, the current vice president of the CBCP, will replace Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao.
Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983, the 62-year old prelate is known as one of the country’s leading Bible scholars.
In 2006, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese, a post he served for around 14 years until he was transferred to the Kalookan diocese in January 2016.
David also previously chaired the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate and was also among the five Filipino bishop delegates to the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God in the Vatican in 2008.
Published January 22, 2021, 11:30 AM
Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio A. Bancud, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (CBCP-ECBA), is inviting the faithful to join the online Bible Festival, which starts January 23, until January 25 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. via Zoom.
(UNSPLASH / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a video message, the bishop urged the faithful “to reflect on the Word of God as the source of grace and courage especially during this time of the pandemic.”
“This festival is meant to involve all of us Christians. It is a timely opportunity for us to use this festival to reflect on the Word of God as a source of grace amid the pandemic and the many other challenges around the world,” Bancud said.