Jose Romeo Orquejo Lazo is a Filipino Catholic clergyman who is the thirteenth ordinary of the

Archdiocese of Jaro The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City, the Philippines. It is based with the Jaro Cathedral (officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also the N ...

, and the sixth to have the title of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. He was born on January 23, 1949, in

San Jose de Buenavista, Antique San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista, ( krj, Banwa kang San Jose de Buenavista; hil, Banwa sang San Jose de Buenavista; tl, Bayan ng San Jose de Buenavista), is a 1st class municipality and capital of th ...

to Juan P. Lazo and Fausta Orquejo, both now deceased, and was baptized on February 13 of the same year at the St. Joseph Parish of the same town.

Formation and ordination

Lazo began his training for the priesthood at St. Peter's Seminary in

San Jose, Antique San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista, ( krj, Banwa kang San Jose de Buenavista; hil, Banwa sang San Jose de Buenavista; tl, Bayan ng San Jose de Buenavista), is a 1st class municipality and capital of th ...

, studying Philosophy from 1966 to 1970. In 1970 he transferred to St. Francis Xavier Seminary in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

, where he finished his philosophical training in 1971. He continued to take theological formation in the same seminary until 1973. The following year, he transferred to St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in

Jaro, Iloilo City Jaro (; ) is a district of Iloilo City in the Philippine province of Iloilo on Panay Island in the Western Visayas region. It is the largest in terms of area and population of Iloilo City's seven districts, with 130,700 people in the 2020 census ...

, where he finished his priestly training in 1975. He received the Sacrament of Holy Orders, on 1 April 1975, being

incardinated Incardination is the formal term in the Catholic Church for a clergyman being under a bishop or other ecclesiastical superior. It is also sometimes used to refer to laity who may transfer to another part of the church. Examples include transfers ...

in the

Prelature A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

(later

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

) of San Jose, Antique.

Priesthood

Lazo began his ministry in Dao, in 1975, where he later became the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

until 1978. From 1978 to 1981, he taught at St. Peter's Seminary in Antique. He was given charge as parish priest of St. Peter's Parish from 1981-1983, while also being in charge of the Catechetical Institute of the Prelature of Antique. Lazo was appointed rector of St. Peter's Seminary from 1983 to 1985; parish priest of Bugasong from 1985 to 1986; President of St. Anthony's College from 1986-1989; and Vicar General of the Diocese of Antique from 1987 to 1996. From 1996-1997, he spent a year of sabbatical leave, doing post-graduate studies in pastoral theology in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, USA, and, returning to Antique in 1997, he was nominated parish priest of Pandan. In 1997, Lazo was assigned as member of the pastoral team of the Assist Program of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...

(CBCP), and was given an added assignment as spiritual director of the diocesan Seminary from October 2003.

As bishop

Lazo was appointed Bishop of Kalibo by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on November 13, 2003, and assumed office after he was ordained bishop by Antonio Franco Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, together with the co-ordaining bishops, Angel N. Lagdameo and Romulo de la Cruz on December 29, 2003. He took possession of the see of Kalibo, on 8 January 2004.Archbishop Jose Romeo Juanito Orquejo Lazo
Catholic-Hierarchy (retrieved on 14 February 2018) On July 21, 2009, Lazo was appointed as the fourth bishop of Antique by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. During his term as Bishop of San Jose de Antique, in 2011, he consecrated Jose Corazon T. Tala-oc, priest of his diocese, to succeed him in the

Diocese of Kalibo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalibo is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Erected in 1976, the diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Capiz. The ...

. In the CBCP Lazo worked as vice chairman of the Commission on the Clergy (of which he remains a member) and a member of the Commission on Seminaries from 2013-2015. On February 14, 2018,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Lazo as the 6th archbishop of the

, taking possession of the see on April 17, 2018.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazo, Jose Romeo 1949 births Karay-a people People from Antique (province) 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines Living people