The newly appointed bishop of Tagbilaran will formally take canonical possession of the diocese on Oct. 27, more than a year after it became vacant.
Bishop Crispin Varquez, who has led the Diocese of Borongan in Eastern Samar for around 18 years, will take possession during a 9 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral Shrine-Parish in Tagbilaran City.
“We give thanks to God for the gift of a new shepherd to lead our Diocese and accompany us in our journey of faith,” the Tagbilaran diocese said in a statement.
Archbishop Alberto Uy of Cebu, Varquez’s predecessor in Tagbilaran, will preside over the installation Mass. Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila will deliver the homily.
Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles Brown and bishops from other dioceses are expected to attend the celebration.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Varquez, a native of Bohol province’s Sevilla town, as Tagbilaran’s eighth bishop on Sept. 10.
The diocese, which covers the southern half of Bohol, has been sede vacante, or without a bishop, since September 2025, when Uy was transferred to Cebu.
Varquez, 65, was ordained a priest for Tagbilaran in 1989 and served in several diocesan posts, including vicar general, before being appointed bishop of Borongan in August 2007.
He was ordained a bishop at Tagbilaran Cathedral on Oct. 18, 2007, and took canonical possession of the Diocese of Borongan on Nov. 8, 2007.
