CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Pope Francis appointed on Thursday San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David as the new bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan, a move that met mixed reactions from Kapampangans.
Bishop David is the current Parish Priest of Holy Rosary Parish in Angeles City.
The Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines, through its news arm CBCPnews, said the Kalookan diocese has been without a bishop since January 2013 after the resignation of Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez due to health reasons.
Antipolo Auxiliary Bishop Francisco De Leon is the current diocese administrator.
CBCPnews added that David, a known Bible scholar, will be the second bishop of the diocese since its establishment in 2003.
David was born on March 2, 1959 in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga. He was ordained a priest on March 12, 1983.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of San Fernando on May 27, 2006. He was ordained Bishop on July 10, 2006.
David finished his college seminary formation at the San Jose Seminary, Ateneo de Manila University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Divinity degree.
He took his Master of Arts degree in Theology at the Loyola School of Theology, also in Ateneo, and proceeded to earn his Licentiate in Sacred Theology degree from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in 1988.
The following year he took up doctorate degree in Sacred Theology, also at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
David was member of the Permanent Council of the CBCP from 2007 to 2013.
He also chaired the Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate of the CBCP from 2009 to 2015.
David is the current vice chairman of the CBCP Permanent Committee on Cultural Heritage.
Holy Rosary Parish altar server Ryan Gan said that a “veil of mixed emotions” enveloped the Holy Rosary Parish when the Vatican announced the new appointment of Bishop David to the Kalookan Diocese.
“As soon as the announcement was made at 6:00 p.m. (local time), people used social media to air out their reactions. While a lot of people were happy for the Bishop, it cannot be denied that there were also some who were saddened by the news, especially parishioners of Holy Rosary Parish who were able to work directly or indirectly with the bishop,” Gan added.
Bishop Ambo, as he is fondly called, has been the parish priest of Holy Rosary Parish since 2008.
Bishop David is known for his intelligence and for his various advocacies which include caring for the environment and the promotion of the Bible among Catholics.
He has also introduced and implemented a lot of changes not only in the parish but in the community as well, according to Gan.