Retired Bishop Joseph Nacua of Ilagan, the first and only Filipino Capuchin to have been ordained to the episcopate so far, died on Saturday. He was 77.
According to his congregation, the bishop died at 5:32 p.m. at a hospital in Lipa City where he was confined since Sept. 8.
The bishop was rushed to the hospital on Thursday evening and has since slipped into a coma.
“The best efforts of medical staff were unable to revive him and he finally and peacefully expired two days later,” the Capuchins said in a statement.
Nacua served the faithful of Isabela province for nine years until he resigned in 2017 for health reasons.
In 2019, he moved to the friary of the Padre Pio Fraternity in Lipa.
Born in Mankayan town in Benguet province, Nacua was ordained a deacon in Imus, Cavite in 1971 and was ordained a priest in General Santos City later that year.
Ordained a bishop on Aug. 19, 2008 in Ipil, Zamboanga-Sibugay, he was installed in the Ilagan diocese on Sept. 9 of the same year.
“In his six decades of religious life, he had been a dedicated educator, formator, minister, and pastor,” the congregation added
