Bishop Ronald Lunas of Pagadian died on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at a hospital in Davao City, where he was recovering from a heart bypass surgery.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the 57-year-old bishop died at 8:28 a.m., as confirmed by Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao.
The diocese has yet to release a statement on Luna’s death.
However, a social media post from the Pagadian Cathedral revealed that Lunas underwent heart bypass surgery on Dec. 28.
The bishop had been in the hospital since early November following a heart attack and stroke.
“My neurologist decided to delay my heart bypass as there’s a need to address the stroke I had,” Lunas said in a message on Nov. 20.
“My neurologist is afraid a stroke may occur again during the procedure and may cause more complications,” the bishop added.
Lunas was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Digos in 1992.
He was appointed bishop of Pagadian in November 2018 and was ordained to the episcopate on Feb. 11, 2019.
The bishop was installed as the fifth bishop of Pagadian on Mar. 25, 2019.
He also led the Episcopal Commission on Basic Ecclesial Communities of the CBCP since 2021.