MANILA – A 59-year old priest from Leyte Province has been named as the new secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The CBCP news website reported that Msgr. Bernardo Pantin from the Archdiocese of Palo was appointed secretary-general during its Permanent Council meeting on Wednesday.
He succeeded Fr. Marvin Mejia of the Archdiocese of Cebu, who served the position since 2013. His term ended on October 31.
Before his appointment, Pantin has been the Conference’s assistant secretary general. His replacement is expected to be named soon.
Born in McArthur, Leyte, the new CBCP official took his Philosophy at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Palo, and Theology at the UST Central Seminary in Manila, where he earned his Licentiate in Canon Law.
He was ordained a priest in 1986.
In 1990, the priest finished his Doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
He was installed as a papal chaplain, with a title of monsignor, in December 1994.
Among his positions included being a rector at the St. John the Evangelist School of Theology in Palo and Vice President for the Visayas of the Canon Law Society of the Philippines.
Pantin was also the Rector of the Palo Cathedral when Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck Leyte in 2013.
In 2014, he was transferred to the CBCP office in Manila.