POPE Leo XIV has appointed Jolo Bishop Charlie Inzon as the next shepherd of the Archdiocese of Cotabato.
A report by CBCP News said the Pontiff designated Inzon as the successor of now Cotabato Archbishop Emeritus Angelito Lampon late on Monday.
“No date has been set for his installation as the fifth archbishop of Cotabato,” said CBCP News.
Inzon’s appointment comes after Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Lampon.
Lampon has led the archdiocese since January 2019.
“Lampon reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops last March 1,” said the official news agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The 59-year-old Inzon was born in Pilar, Sorsogon, in 1965, and was ordained a priest for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) on April 24, 1993 in Caloocan City.
He studied philosophy at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City and theology at the Loyola School of Theology of Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.
The archbishop-designate also holds a master’s degree in theology from Loyola and a doctorate in psychology from Ateneo.
He later served as president of Notre Dame College in Jolo and Notre Dame University in Cotabato.
Inzon also served as provincial superior of the Oblates in 2018 and subsequently as apostolic vicar of Jolo in 2020.
He was ordained bishop on May 21, 2020 at the Cotabato Cathedral and was installed in Jolo on July 16, 2020.
