New bishop of Boac

John Paul II has appointed Father Reynaldo Gonda Evangelista as the new bishop of the Diocese of Boac. He succeeds Bishop Jose F. Oliveros, who was transferred to Bulacan as the Bishop of Malolos.

The news was officially published in the Vatican at noon on Saturday, December 11, 2004. Manila is seven hours ahead of Rome. Archbishop Antonio Franco, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, announced the appointment to the media early on Saturday evening, simultaneously with its publication in the Vatican.

Father Evangelista is 41 years old. He was born on May 8, 1963 in Mabini, Batangas. He entered the Seminary of St. Francis de Sales in 1975, when he was twelve years old. His philosophical studies were done at the Regional Seminary of St. Francis de Sales in Lipa, and his theology at Saint Alphonsus in Lucena. He was ordained at the age of 23 in San Sebastian Cathedral, Lipa City.

He has served as Professor and Rector of St. Francis de sales Minor Seminary, and as a Rector of Regional College Seminary in Lipa. For the last four years he has been the Parish Priest of San Guillermo Parish.

No date has been announced for his installation as Bishop of Boac.