Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Cotabato, led the installation of the new Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro in a ceremony on Friday, August 28, that was attended by a few parishioners and guests.
Cardinal Quevedo installed Archbishop Jose Araneta Cabantan who replaced retiring Archbishop Antonio Ledesma as the leader of the Catholic Church in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, and Camiguin Island.
The ceremony, which was held at the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral in Cagayan de Oro, was attended by about 250 parishioners and guests.
Father Der John Faborada, the archdiocese’s spokesman, said the limitation of the number of guests was in accordance to the limitations set by authorities due to the pandemic.
“We want to show the Church is following the health protocols to the fullest,” Father Faborada said.
On Thursday, the 63-year old Bishop Cabantan presented to the media his personal coat of arms – a tree planted on a mountain.
He said the tree and the mountain symbolize the environment and the tribal people of Mindanao who would be the corner stones of his ministry.
Bishop Cabantan who hails from Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental, was bishop of Malaybalay, Bukidnon, prior to his installation to head the Cagayan de Oro archdiocese.
Archbishop Ledesma on the other hand will retire to the St. John Theological Seminary in Camaman-an in Cagayan de Oro City.
He said he will continue his work on agrarian reforms, environment, and forging the peace talks between the communist rebels and the Philippine government.
