Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Gerardo Saco Jr. as the new bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.
The Vatican announced Wednesday at noon in Rome (7 p.m. in the Philippines) that Saco, diocesan administrator since October 2025, will succeed Archbishop Alberto Uy.
Uy led the diocese for about eight years before his transfer to the Archdiocese of Cebu in September 2025, leaving a leadership vacancy in Tagbilaran.
In Manila, Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, relayed the appointment to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
Born in Tagbilaran, Saco studied philosophy at the diocese’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and theology at San Carlos Seminary in Cebu City.
He was ordained a priest on April 26, 1993, and previously served as vicar general under Uy. He becomes Tagbilaran’s eighth bishop.
Saco chairs the diocesan Commission on Social Action and serves as priest-in-charge of St. Vincent Ferrer Mission Station in Barangay Cabawan, Tagbilaran City.
His pastoral ministry spans nearly three decades, including service as parochial vicar, pastor, missionary in Libya, and visiting priest in New York.
He led parishes such as Our Lady of Lourdes in Tagbilaran City, Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis, and Holy Cross in Maribojoc.
From 2015 to 2021, he also served as Episcopal Vicar for the Laity and, most recently, as Vicar Forane and diocesan administrator.
