Youngest Catholic Bishop

Bishop Rex Andrew Alarcon was the country’s youngest Catholic bishop when he was installed as the head of the Diocese of Daet on March 22, 2019. He was the fourth Bishop of the diocese.

On February 22, 2024, Pope Francis named Bishop Alarcon as the new archbishop of the Archdiocese of Caceres which includes three districts in the province of Camarines Sur. As Archbishop of Caceres, he will be considered the “first among equals” among the seven bishops of Bicol. As fifth archbishop of Caceres, Alarcon replaces Rolando J. Tria Tirona, a native of Sampaloc, Manila, who served as Caceres archbishop from 2012 until his retirement this year at the age of 77.

The appointment of Alarcon as Archbishop is significant because Bicol is considered a Filipino Catholic powerhouse. Known for its deep devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the region has the highest percentage of Catholics in the country – 93.5% of its 5.67 million residents versus Eastern Visayas at 93.3%, Calabarzon at 89.2%, and national average at 78.8%. (reference: 2020 Census of Population and Housing).

Archbishop Alarcon was born in Daet, Camarines Norte, on August 6, 1970, to Juanita C. Clement and Armando A. Alarcon. He finished his grade school studies at the Naga Parochial School. After high school and philosophy courses at the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary in Naga, he studied theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Caceres on November 9, 1996. He served as assistant parish priest of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naga and educator at the minor seminary until 1997.

From 1997 to 1999 he served as private secretary to the archbishop. From 1999 and 2001 he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, obtaining a licentiate in Church History. Back in Bicol from Rome, he became Professor at the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary Rosary. Since 2002 he was the director of the Stewardship program of the Archdiocese of Caceres, and since 2007, the superintendent of the Naga parochial school and president of the Catholic Association of Education.

Since 2013 he was superintendent of the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese, a member of the College of Consultants and spokesperson for the archdiocese. Since 2016 he has been president of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines. He is Chairman, Episcopal Commission on Youth, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (2019–present).

In a message addressing the youth in 2023, Archbishop-elect Alarcon said,

“Stop blaming others. Stop blaming circumstances. Rather, take responsibility for your future. Normally, the older generation feel responsible for the young. So, they are the ones who take the lead in shaping the future of the younger generation. But this mentality should be modified. The youth of today must be in the driver’s seat. They must take charge. Let us fight selfishness, indifference and apathy. Let us choose to care, to engage and make good choices. Our freedom is perfected by constantly choosing the good. Choosing evil is an abuse of our freedom.”

Archbishop-elect Rex Alarcon

On April 21, 2024, Archbishop-emeritus and Apostolic Administrator Rolando J. Tria Tirona will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood. A Thanksgiving Mass will be held at the Peñafrancia Basilica Minore on the said date at 09:30 AM.

May 2, 2024, will mark a new chapter in the long and rich history of the Archdiocese of Caceres, as Most Rev. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, DD will be solemnly installed and will take Canonical Possession of the Archdiocese as its Fifth Archbishop. The Rites will begin at 09:00 AM at The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral.

Charismatic Priest is the New Bishop of Virac

On February 29, 2024, the Vatican announced the appointment of Rev. Fr. Luisito Audal Occiano, a clergy of the Archdiocese of Caceres as the new Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Virac, Province of Catanduanes, and a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Caceres. He will replace Most Rev. Manolo A. De Los Santos, D.D., whose resignation was accepted by the pope. De los Santos, who is now 76 years old and served the island diocese in Catanduanes province since 1994.

Bishop-elect Louie Occiano, 52, currently serves as the rector and parish priest of the Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph in San Jose, Camarines Sur. He is also the director of the Caceres Commission on Communication.

During his installation as shrine rector in 2021, now Archbishop Emeritus Rolando Tria Tirona of Caceres described Occiano as a “humble, approachable priest with a warm personality.” Tirona also said, “He relates well with the people and works effectively with them,” He added, “He is very committed to his work.”

The Archbishop Emeritus also said that there was a time when he wanted the priest to study diplomacy at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome “because he can be a diplomat.” He added, “He has the charisma for it.” He noted that Occiano was also active in various civic organizations.

Born on June 21, 1971, Occiano completed his philosophy and theology studies at the Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City. He was ordained priest on November 10, 1996. Following his ordination, he continued his studies in Religious Formation and Catechesis at the Ateneo De Manila University. He completed his Master of Arts degree from the Ateneo de Naga University.

As a young priest, he served as a parochial vicar at the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral before becoming the secretary to the then shepherd of Caceres, the late Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi. He also served as the director of the archdiocese’s catechetical ministry and as vice rector of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.

In 2003, he became the parochial vicar of the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Naga City. From 2015 to 2021, he served his first assignment as parish priest at St. Bartholomew Parish in Baao, Camarines Sur. In one of his homilies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bishop-elect Occiano said,

“They say ‘Save the best for last’. Allow me to change that into ‘Save the worst to Christ.’ Because sometimes, we think that we can handle everything. We think that we are extraordinary already because of our talents, intelligence, and wisdom. We think we can handle every storm of life; but there are things that we have to consider and accept that we cannot do everything with our own hands and save the worst to Christ. Because it is only Christ who can overcome everything. Even things that we cannot handle, that we cannot overcome.”

Bishop-elect Louie Occiano

The Diocese of Virac, Catanduanes was established in August 27, 1974, from territory in the Diocese of Legazpi and the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Caceres. It is made up of more than 262,000 Catholics, 38 parishes and missions, 69 clergy and 64 lay religious men and women.

On June 21, 2024, coinciding with his 53rd Birthday, Virac Bishop-elect Luisito A. Occiano will receive Episcopal Ordination from the hands of Archbishop-emeritus Tirona, together with Archbishops Adolfo Tito Yllana and Charles John Brown as Co-Consecrators. The Solemn Ordination will take place at the Peñafrancia Basilica Minore, at 9:00 AM. He will then be Installed at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral-Parish of the Diocese of Virac on June 26, 2024.

Reported by Jojo De Jesus for Dateline Ibalon based on content from the Vatican News, CBCP News, Dominus Est, Archdiocese of Caceres, and Diocese of Virac.