Pope Francis has appointed Balanga Bishop Ruperto C. Santos as the new shepherd of the Diocese of Antipolo following the retirement of Antipolo Bishop Francisco de Leon after he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops.
(Bishop Ruperto Santos / Facebook)
Bishop Santos was born on October 30, 1957 in San Rafael Bulacan and was ordained priest on September 10, 1983.
In his almost four decades as a priest, the Church leader served as deputy parish priest of the Immaculate Conception Parish, chaplain of the Pasig Catholic College and parish priest of Maybunga.
He obtained his licentiate in history at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.
Bishop Santos also served as a professor of Church history at the San Carlos Seminary as well as rector and superior at the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome before he was appointed as bishop of the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan on April 1, 2010.
The prelate also served as chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines -Episcopal Commission on Pontificio Collegio Filippino, chairman of the CBCP- Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People and currently as the vice chairman of CBCP-ECMI.
Bishop Santos is also currently serving as the Bishop Promoter of the Stella Maris Philippines whose main advocacy is the protection of the rights and welfare of Filipino seafarers. He is also the episcopal coordinator of Divine Mercy Philippines and Asia.