Apostolic Nuncio leads among guests
TACLOBAN CITY – The provincial government of Northern Samar is preparing for the visit of the Vatican Ambassador to the Philippines, Most Reverend Charles John Brown, on January 15, 2025.
The Apostolic Nuncio is set to visit Catarman to lead the installation of Bishop Nolly Buco at the Our Lady of the Annunciation Cathedral Parish.
“Papal Nuncio Brown was in Northern Samar in 2023 and is returning to the province this January 2025 for a historic event that will gather a large number of guests,” said provincial information officer John Allen Berbon.
The installation of Bishop Buco is expected to be attended by high-ranking officials of the province, clergies from various parts of the country, and parishioners from across Eastern Visayas, especially from the 24 municipalities of Northern Samar.
Bishop Buco is the third prelate to lead the Roman Catholic faithful in the province, following the Vatican’s acceptance of Bishop Emmanuel Trance’s resignation due to health reasons.
Appointed as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Antipolo in July 2018, Bishop Buco was later named Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Catarman in December 2023.
In October 2024, Pope Francis appointed him as the third bishop of the Diocese of Catarman, established on December 5, 1974, when Northern Samar was declared a separate province.
Bishop Buco earned a Philosophy degree from the Sacred Heart Seminary in Palo, Leyte, and completed his Theology studies at the Immaculate Conception Major Seminary in Guiguinto, Bulacan. He holds a doctorate in Canon Law from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and another doctorate in Anthropology from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
He was ordained as a priest on October 18, 1993.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
