New diocese in Mindanao established

Metro Manila, Philippines — Pope Francis has created a new diocese in Mindanao, naming Cebu prelate Ruben Labajo as its first bishop, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.

CBCP News reported Tuesday, Oct. 16, that the new Diocese of Prosperidad includes Agusan del Sur, formerly of the Diocese of Butuan, which will now only cover Agusan del Norte.

The new diocese was the result of a petition filed by Butuan Bishop Cosme Damian Almedilla in 2023.

“It’s a sign of growth that in some parts of the world, their concern is how to combine dioceses. But in our part of the world the concern is how to create new dioceses. It’s a sign of vitality,” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said in a video shared by the Diocese of Butuan's Social Communications Ministry on Wednesday. Tagle is the Vatican’s pro-prefect of the dicastery for evangelization.

“I would like to consider this as God’s will for me and I continue my journey walking humbly before God, entrusting my life to the care of the Blessed Mother, relying on the grace of God,” Labajo told the congregation of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu, where he was former auxiliary bishop.

The Diocese of Prosperidad is the country’s 87th diocese, with the St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Barangay Poblacion as its proposed new cathedral, according to the Butuan bishopric.