José Serofia Palma O.P. (born 19 March 1950) is a Filipino prelate and a professed member of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

who is currently serving as the Archbishop of Cebu since 15 October 2010. He had previously served as Archbishop of Palo in

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. He also served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines from 2011 to 2013.

Early life

Palma was born in

Dingle, Iloilo Dingle (), officially the Municipality of Dingle ( krj, Banwa ka Dingle, hil, Banwa sang Dingle, tgl, Bayan ng Dingle), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 45 ...

, in the Archdiocese of Jaro. He studied philosophy at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary and theological studies at the St. Joseph Regional Seminary. He received his licentiate in Sacred Theology at the

Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Mig ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest for the Archdiocese of Jaro on 21 August 1976. Palma earned a doctorate from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas, ''Angelicum'' in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1987 with a dissertation entitled ''Death as an Act: A Dialogue in Eschatology with Contemporary Theologians''.

Priesthood

After a year as assistant priest at the Jaro Cathedral, he taught at his '' alma mater'', St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary. After his studies in Rome, he became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the seminary until he was appointed rector of the major seminary of the Metropolitan Province of Jaro-the St. Joseph Regional Seminary, in 1988. Meanwhile, he also held various positions in several diocesan commissions. In 1997 he was made parish priest of the Parish of St Anthony of Padua in

Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo Barotac Nuevo, officially the Municipality of Barotac Nuevo ( hil, Banwa sang Barotac Nuevo, tgl, Bayan ng Barotac Nuevo), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

(Archdiocese of Jaro). On 28 November 1997,

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 ...

appointed him

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Vazari Diddi and Auxiliary Bishop of

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

. He was consecrated on 13 January 1998. Exactly a year later, he was made Bishop-Ordinary of the See of Calbayog.

As archbishop

Archbishop of Palo

On 18 March 2006, Palma was appointed Archbishop of Palo 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 soverei ...

, succeeding Archbishop-Emeritus Pedro R. Dean.

Archbishop of Cebu

On 15 October 2010 he was appointed Archbishop of Cebu, replacing Cardinal

Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...

, who had been archbishop for 29 years. He was installed on 13 January 2011 at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. He served as vice-president 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 ...

from 1 December 2009 until 11 July 2011 on which he was elected president. In 2018 he joined the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

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. ...

named him a member of the

Pontifical Council for Culture The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...

on 11 November 2019.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy Archbishop Jose S. Palma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palma, Jose S. 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines 1950 births Living people University of Santo Tomas alumni Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni People from Iloilo People from Cebu City Dominican bishops Visayan people Roman Catholic archbishops of Cebu Roman Catholic archbishops of Palo Presidents of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines