Vatican City: Pope Francis has named the new bishop of the Diocese of Pagadian in Zamboanga del Sur following the death of Bishop Ronald Lunas last year.
According to Philippines News Agency, the appointment of Father Ronald Anthony Timoner was announced by the Vatican on Wednesday. The 53-year-old bishop-elect will lead the diocese that has been vacant since Lunas' death on Jan. 2, 2024.
As the new bishop of Pagadian, Timoner will oversee a diocese of more than 1.3 million people, roughly 80 percent of whom are Catholic, spread across 26 parishes, the CBCP said. Born in 1971, Timoner studied philosophy at the Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City, and theology at the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary in Manila.
He was ordained priest for the Diocese of Daet in Camarines Norte on May 1, 1997, and learned a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. In 2018, Timoner was appointed by Daet Bishop Rex Andrew Alarcon as vicar general, a position he held until he was named archbishop of Caceres in 2024.
Before his episcopal appointment, Timoner served as diocesan administrator of Daet. Incidentally, the Daet diocese has a new bishop, Rogationist Fr. Hernan Abcede, who is set to be ordained to the episcopate and installed on May 1, 2025.
