Cardinal Luis Tagle, the Catholic Church’s Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, shared with the island community that the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa will have a new bishop. Cardinal Tagle was on island as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the canonical establishment of the diocese.
POPE Francis appointed the Very Reverend Fr. Romeo Convocar as the new bishop of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa.
Convocar is the previous vicar-general of the Archdiocese of Agaña in Guam.
The appointment was announced on Monday by Cardinal Luis Tagle, who was on island to join the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the canonical establishment of the diocese.
A former Archbishop of Manila, Tagle is the Catholic Church’s Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
On Tuesday, during a Eucharistic celebration at Mount Carmel Cathedral, Tagle said in the Bible, the number 40 “carries with it a lot of spiritual and missionary significance.”
“It signifies a period of trial, some difficulties, even some temptation, but it is a period when God purifies his people … so that they will really do the mission entrusted to them,” he said.
“Lo and behold, as we are bringing the 40th anniversary [celebration] to a close, Pope Francis gives to the diocese a new bishop, Bishop-elect Romeo Convocar.”
Born in Iloilo, in the central Philippines, Convocar was ordained into the Sacred Order of Priesthood for the Military Ordinariate on Sept. 17, 1996 and served as a military chaplain of the Armed Forces of the Philippines with the rank of captain.
On Guam, he was the administrator of St. Joseph Parish in Inalajan, the pastor of San Isidro Parish in Molojloj, and the rector of Agaña Cathedral-Basilica.
Convocar has been the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Agaña since March 28 of last year, following the resignation of Archbishop Michael Byrnes due to health reasons.
The Diocese of Chalan Kanoa has been without a bishop since August 2024, when the Most Reverend Ryan P. Jimenez was appointed by the Pope as the new Archbishop of Agaña.
Rev. Fr. Charlie A. Borja, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, said Bishop-elect Convocar will be installed on March 8, 2025.
The diocese’s first bishop was Tomas A. Camacho, who was appointed by Pope John Paul II and served for 25 years, from 1985 until his retirement in 2010.
He was succeeded by Jimenez, who was appointed by Pope Francis as bishop in 2016.
Island youths blow the kulu at the start of the Mass at the Mount Carmel Cathedral on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.
The Mount Carmel Cathedral was packed with island faithful on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.
