The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has appointed a priest from the Archdiocese of Palo in Leyte province as its new secretary-general.
The appointment of Monsignor Bernardo Pantin, 59, was confirmed during the CBCP Permanent Council meeting on Wednesday.
He replaced Fr. Marvin Mejia of the Cebu archdiocese, who served the position since 2013 and whose term ended on October 31.
Prior to his Nov. 25 appointment, Msgr. Pantin has been CBCP’s assistant secretary-general, a post which will have to be filled in the coming months.
Born in McArthur, Leyte, Msgr. Pantin took his Philosophy at the Sacred Heart Seminary in Palo, and Theology at the UST Central Seminary in Manila, where he earned his Licentiate in Canon Law.
He was ordained a priest in 1986.
In 1990, the priest finished his Doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
He was installed as papal chaplain, with a title of monsignor, in December 1994.
Among the posts he previously held were Rector at the St. John the Evangelist School of Theology in Palo and Vice President for the Visayas of the Canon Law Society of the Philippines.
Msgr. Pantin was also the Rector of the Palo Cathedral when Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck Leyte in 2013. He was later transferred the following year to the CBCP office in Manila.
