THE Roman Archdiocese of Cebu is set to implement a large-scale general reshuffling of its 350 priests’ assignments starting August 2025. This significant move, planned five years ago, is an essential part of priestly life and ministry, according to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.
Palma, in an interview at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Monday, June 23, 2025, after the awarding and recognition of the Jubilee Year of the Laity, elaborated on the changes.
In an advisory issued on June 19, the Archdiocese had already begun reshuffling clergy assignments across its seven districts, encompassing various parishes from northern to southern Cebu, as well as Archdiocesan schools, seminaries and offices.
Palma acknowledged the complexity of reassigning 350 priests, noting the varying reactions he received from those who had been given new assignments. He stressed that clergy assignments are not permanent.
Archbishop Palma, who turned 75 on March 19, the mandatory age for retirement, has submitted his resignation to the Vatican as required by Canon 401 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
While the Holy Father has the discretion to accept Palma’s resignation, the Archbishop has publicly announced his intention to retire and has even visited the Archdiocese of Cebu’s retirement home in Santo Niño Village in Banilad, Cebu City.
With the death of Pope Francis in April 2025, the Vatican welcomed Pope Leo XVI to lead millions of Roman Catholics. Palma stated that the new bishop, upon his arrival, will have the authority to rearrange or reassign priests.
The distribution of appointment letters for the current reshuffling was conducted during the Cebu Clergy Recollection on June 17.
In an advisory, the Archbishop called on the clergy “to look at all of these with open hearts and with trust and to treat whoever they are with in the parish not as the other but as a brother.” The faithful are also urged to offer prayers for the priests in their new assignments.
Despite his impending retirement, Palma remains actively involved in the Archdiocese of Cebu. Among his initiatives is “Sugbuswak,” a proposal involving the creation of two new dioceses in the province of Cebu. This initiative aims for better pastoral care within what is currently the largest archdiocese in the country.
The “Sugbuswak” proposal is seen by some as a significant part of Palma’s legacy before his retirement. If approved, the Archdiocese will be divided into the Diocese of Danao in Northern Cebu, the Diocese of Carcar in Southern Cebu and the Archdiocese in Metro Cebu.
Before being appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Cebu’s top prelate in 2010, Palma had served as archbishop of Palo, Leyte. He replaced Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, who had served as archbishop of Cebu from 1982 until his retirement in 2010. Vidal passed away on Oct. 18, 2017, at age 86. / EHP