The Philippines now has 87 dioceses and archdioceses after the Vatican established the Diocese of Prosperidad which will cover the province of Agusan del Sur.
A report of CBCP News on late Tuesday said Pope Francis also appointed Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Ruben Labajo as its first shepherd.
“The new diocese, which comprises the province of Agusan del Sur, was carved out of the 57-year-old Diocese of Butuan, which now covers only Agusan del Norte,” said CBCP News, the official news agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
“It will be a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro,” it added.
CBCP News said the establishment of the Diocese of Prosperidad stemmed from a petition filed by Butuan Bishop Cosme Damian Almedilla in 2023.
Almedilla has said the division would be a “strategic move” as it would foster the spiritual growth of the faithful and improve administrative efficiency within the respective dioceses.
He also referred to Agusan del Sur as a “missionary frontier” as its communities are spread across the landlocked and mountainous province.
Labajo, 58, was ordained priest for the Cebu archdiocese on June 10, 1994.
In June 2022, Pope Francis appointed him as auxiliary bishop of Cebu.
Labajo is set to lead the new diocese that has a Catholic population of 486,251 and about 60 priests.
In a brief statement, Labajo said, “Whatever God wants me to do, I will do it, willingly and lovingly. Whatever is God’s will for me, wherever He wills me to go, I will go.”
