There has been no priestly ordination in the Archdiocese of Manila for a year now.
Archdiocese of Manila apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo confirmed this in an interview on December 7.
(CBCP NEWS / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
He said no priest has been ordained for the archdiocese ever since former Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle left.
Pope Francis appointed Tagle as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in December 2019.
Pabillo said they are still waiting for the pontiff to appoint Tagle's successor.
He cited the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as another reason why there has been no priestly ordination.
According to Pabillo, there are currently two pending priestly ordinations.
No priestly ordination also took place in the Diocese of Malolos in Bulacan when Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco served as apostolic administrator of the diocese in May 2018 following the death of Bishop Jose Oliveros.
"I did not have any priestly ordinations when I was apostolic administrator of Bulacan. We had to wait for the regular bishop to be appointed," said Ongtioco.
Pope Francis later appointed then Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo as the new bishop of Malolos in May 2019.