ILOILO City – The Archdiocese of Jaro is bracing for a historic and highly attended ecclesiastical event as the Most Reverend Midyphil B. Billones, D.D., is formally installed today, April 2, as the seventh Archbishop of Jaro in a solemn rite expected to draw hundreds of clergy, religious leaders, and government officials.
The Solemn Canonical Installation, to be held at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral in Jaro district, will be witnessed by around 40 bishops and more than 300 priests, with prominent guests including Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles John Brown and Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula.
Government dignitaries from Western Visayas, including governors and congressmen, are also expected to attend.
The Archdiocese of Jaro was initially established as a diocese on May 27, 1865, through the papal bull “Qui Ab Initio” by Pope Pius IX. It was elevated to an archdiocese on June 29, 1951, by Pope Pius XII. As of 2021, it serves a Catholic population of about three million, representing 83.1% of the total population within its territory that includes Iloilo province, Iloilo City, and Guimaras.
Billones’ elevation marks a homecoming for the Capiz-born prelate, who previously served in the Archdiocese of Jaro as personal secretary to former archbishops Alberto Piamonte and Angel Lagdameo.
His appointment was officially announced by Pope Francis on February 2, coinciding with the Feast of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, the patroness of the archdiocese.
Now 56, Billones succeeds Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo, who retired at the age of 76.
Lazo, who was honored yesterday with a Pontifical Mass celebrating his Golden Sacerdotal Jubilee, led the archdiocese since 2018.
According to Rev. Fr. Angelo Colada, head of the Social Communications Office, LED widescreens have been installed outside the cathedral to accommodate the overflow crowd and ensure that those unable to enter the limited space inside can still witness the rite.
“We recognize that not everyone can be accommodated inside, so we’re doing everything we can to make the liturgy accessible,” he said.
The day’s liturgical schedule includes:
* 7:30 a.m. – Vesting of bishops and priests at the Archbishop’s Residence
* 8:30 a.m. – Procession to Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral
* 9:00 a.m. – Solemn Pontifical Mass with the Rite of Canonical Installation
For security and crowd management, the Archdiocese has coordinated with the Philippine National Police, which will deploy personnel and implement temporary road closures around the cathedral, especially during the morning procession.
Fondly known as “Bishop Dodong,” Billones studied Philosophy at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City, Theology at Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City, and earned his doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Cebu in 2019 and ordained bishop at the Jaro Cathedral that same year.
As archbishop, Billones will oversee a vast ecclesiastical jurisdiction that includes Iloilo province, Iloilo City, and Guimaras — a spiritual return to his roots, now with a broader mandate to lead./PN
