The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has appointed Father Bryand Restituto of the Archdiocese of Palo as its new assistant secretary general.
Father Restituto, 43, will replace Father Carlo Del Rosario of the Archdiocese of Manila, who served the post since December 2020.
Father Del Rosario is pursuing doctoral studies in canon law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum, in Rome.
Father Restituto was formally introduced to the bishops on July 9, the first of the prelates’ three-day plenary assembly at the Carmelite Missionaries Center of Spirituality in Tagaytay City.
As assistant, he will work with Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, the CBCP’s current secretary general.
Born in Ormoc City, he studied philosophy at the Sacred Heart Seminary (SHS) and theology at the St. John the Evangelist School of Theology (SJEST), both in Palo town.
Father Restituto was ordained priest on Sept. 20, 2005. After his ordination, he served as parochial vicar at the Palo Cathedral.
In 2006, he was sent to Spain where he obtained a licentiate and doctorate in canon law at the University of Navarra.
Upon his return to Leyte in 2011, Father Restituto was named as the archdiocese’s assistant chancellor, while also serving as administrator of the St. Joachim Parish in Palo.
In 2013, he was appointed Dean of Students at the SHS until 2021 when he was named chancellor of the Archdiocese, and Vice Rector and Dean of Studies of SJEST.
Father Restituto also holds a Master’s degree in philosophical research, which he obtained at the De la Salle University in Manila in 2014.
Since 2021, he has been serving as associate judge at the Archdiocesan Marriage Tribunal and Judicial Vicar of the archdiocese.
