Retired Bishop Joseph Nacua of Ilagan, the first and only Filipino Capuchin to have been ordained to the episcopate so far, died on Saturday, September 10. He was 77.
The bishop died at 5:32 p.m. at a hospital in Lipa City where he was confined since September 8, said a report on CBCP News.
The bishop was rushed to the hospital on Thursday, September 8, and has since slipped into a coma.
“The best efforts of medical staff were unable to revive him and he finally and peacefully expired two days later,” the Capuchins said in a statement.
Bishop Nacua served the faithful of Isabela province for nine years until he resigned in 2017 for health reasons.
In 2019, he moved to the friary of the Padre Pio Fraternity in Lipa.
Born in Mankayan town in Benguet province, Bishop Nacua was ordained a deacon in Imus, Cavite, in 1971 and was ordained a priest in General Santos City later that year.
Ordained a bishop on Aug. 19, 2008, in Ipil, Zamboanga-Sibugay, he was installed in the Ilagan diocese on September 9 of the same year.
“In his six decades of religious life, he had been a dedicated educator, formator, minister, and pastor,” said the congregation in its statement.
