POPE Francis named Fr. Ronald Anthony Timoner as the new bishop of the Diocese of Pagadian in Zamboanga del Sur.
In a report, CBCP News said the Pontiff named Timoner as the new bishop last Wednesday night (Manila time).
“Timoner, 53, will take canonical possession of the diocese that has been vacant since the death of Bishop Ronald Lunas on January 2, 2024,” said CBCP News, the official news agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Born in 1971, Timoner studied philosophy at the Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City and theology at the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary in Manila.
He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Daet in Camarines Norte on May 1, 1997.
After serving in several parish assignments, including as a formator at Holy Trinity College Seminary in Daet, he went on study leave in Milan, Italy, where he also served as chaplain of the Church of Saint Thomas.
Upon returning to the Philippines in 2008, he served as chancellor of the Daet diocese under then-Bishop Gilbert Garcera, who has been archbishop of Lipa since 2017.
In 2019, then-Daet Bishop Rex Andrew Alarcon appointed him vicar general, a position he held until he was named archbishop of Caceres in 2024.
Before he was appointed bishop, Timoner served as the diocesan administrator of Daet.
As the new bishop of Pagadian, he will oversee a diocese of more than 1.3 million people, roughly 80 percent of whom are Catholic, spread across 26 parishes.
