Cebu’s new archbishop will be installed Sept. 30 in a Mass marking the formal start of his pastoral leadership over the archdiocese.
A Catholic rite known as the “canonical installation” will take place at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, transferring leadership from retired Archbishop Jose Palma to Archbishop-designate Alberto Uy.
Palma was installed in January 2011 in a ceremony that lasted about two hours and drew a packed crowd, including government leaders and dignitaries.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Uy, the 58-year-old outgoing bishop of the nearby Diocese of Tagbilaran in Bohol province, as Palma’s successor on July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
READ: Pope names new Cebu archbishop | Archbishop-designate Abet Uy seeks prayers ahead of Cebu mission
Since its establishment as a diocese in 1595, Cebu has been led by 25 bishops. When it was elevated to an archdiocese in 1934, a new line of archbishops began.
Uy will be the fifth to hold the title of archbishop of Cebu, following archbishops Gabriel Reyes, Cardinal Julio Rosales, Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, and Palma.
“Let us unite in prayer and thanksgiving as we welcome our new shepherd on this special day, and celebrate this historic moment for our local Church,” the archdiocese said Tuesday.
Uy was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Talibon, also in Bohol, in 1993.
He was named bishop of Tagbilaran by Pope Francis in October 2016 and was ordained to the episcopate by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, then archbishop of Manila, in January 2017.
