The Holy Father Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Rafael T. Cruz as the new bishop of the Diocese of Baguio.
Fr. Cruz, 64, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, and is currently serving as the parish priest of St. Ildephonse Parish in Malasiqui, Pangasinan. He is also one of the vicar foranes in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.
The priest’s appointment was announced by the Vatican at 12 noon on Thursday, June 20, (6 p.m. Manila time) said a CBCP News post.
The Diocese of Baguio has been vacant since May 2023 after Archbishop Victor Bendico was transferred to the Archdiocese of Capiz. Fr. Roland Buyagan served as diocesan administrator in the interim.
Born on March 12,1960 in Mapandan, Pangasinan, Fr. Cruz studied philosophy at the San Pablo Regional College Seminary in Baguio. He completed hi theology studies at the Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Vigan City. He was ordained priest in Sept. 1985.
The bishop-elect also holds a masters degree in counselling psychology and a doctorate of philosophy in clinical psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). He took his residency training at the Loyola University of Chicago and the Carl Jung Institute in Evanston, Illinois.
Fr. Cruz served as parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Calasiao, Pangasinan, from 1985 to 1987.
He was also a visiting professor at the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City from 1999 to 2004, a spiritual director and psychologist advisor for seminarians in Batanes, and a teacher at the Center for Family Ministries at ADMU in 2004.
He served as spiritual director and teacher at the Mary Help of Christians High School Seminary in Binmaley, Pangasinan, and the Mary Help of Christians College Seminary in Dagupan City from 2011 to 2018.
Fr. Cruz is a member of the Permanent Committee for the Protection of Minors of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.