Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David, 56, auxiliary of San Fernando, Philippines, as bishop of Kalookan.

The diocese has a population of some 1.3 million, 1.2 million of whom are Catholic.

They are served by only 42 priests and 70 religious.

Pablo Virgilio Siongco David was born in 1959 in Betis, Guagua, and ordained a priest of San Fernando, Philippines, in 1983. He was made an auxiliary bishop of that diocese in 2006.

On Promises Made to Children

“Love is the promise that man and woman make to each child: from the moment he or she is conceived in thought. Children come into the world and expect to have confirmation of this promise: they expect it in a total, confident, vulnerable way”