- This event has passed.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines at Divine Mercy Hills
July 6 @ 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The country’s Catholic bishops will convene in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro for their 128th plenary assembly next week. The CBCP will visit the Divine Mercy Shrine on July 6 from 5:00 PM onward for a dinner gathering. This is the first time this high-level meeting will be held in the Mindanao region, symbolizing a significant milestone in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) history.
More than 80 bishops are expected to attend the assembly, which is scheduled for July 6 to 8 at the Chali Conference Center. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the CBCP, will deliver the opening address.
Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, CBCP Secretary General, stated that the agenda includes electing chairpersons for several key commissions: the Commission on Catholic Education, the Sub-commission on Retired, Sick, and Elderly Priests, the Sub-commission for Permanent Deacons, and the Office for the Postulation of the Causes of Saints. Additionally, the bishops will discuss proposed activities for the Jubilee 2025 celebrations in the Philippines.
“Let us pray for the bishops as they gather, discuss, and pray about the future of the Church in the Philippines,” Pantin said.
Before the assembly, the bishops will participate in a retreat at the Transfiguration Abbey, managed by the Benedictine Monks in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, will be one of the speakers at the retreat, which will take place from July 2 to 4.
The retreat, themed “Synod Spirituality: Embracing Ecology in the Light of Laudato Sí and Laudate Deum,” will feature theologians Fr. Reynaldo Raluto and Vincentian Fr. Daniel Franklin Pilario as speakers. Raluto is the chair of the Diocese of Malaybalay’s Integral Ecology Ministry, while Pilario currently serves as president of Adamson University in Manila.
The CBCP comprises 83 active bishops, 5 priest administrators, and 39 honorary members who are retired bishops. The plenary assembly convenes twice a year, in January and July. When not in session, the Permanent Council acts on behalf of the episcopal conference.
This assembly will address administrative and pastoral matters and strengthen the spiritual bonds among the bishops as they reflect on critical issues affecting the Church and society.
