VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Rev. Leopoldo C. Jaucian, SVD, as bishop of the Diocese of Bangued in Abra, according to an announcement from the Vatican on Saturday, November 7.
The Holy See Press Office stated that the resignation was accepted in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law, which applies to bishops who become unable to fulfill their pastoral duties due to ill health or other grave reasons. No specific details regarding Jaucian’s resignation were publicly disclosed.
Jaucian, 66, spent nearly 19 years leading the Catholic faithful in Abra. Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in January 2007, he received his episcopal ordination and was installed in March of that year. Born in Santa, Ilocos Sur, on July 27, 1960, he was ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in March 1988.
Prior to his episcopate, he held key leadership roles, including serving as provincial superior of the SVD Philippine Central Province and parish priest of the National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus in Manila.
While relinquishing his administrative and pastoral responsibilities as diocesan bishop to become Bishop Emeritus of Bangued, Jaucian retains his status as a bishop and priest. Within the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), he currently serves as chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Mission, having previously headed the commissions on Youth and Mutual Relations.
Following the vacancy, the Diocese of Bangued’s College of Consultors is mandated under Canon 421 to elect a diocesan administrator within eight days to temporarily oversee operations until a new bishop is appointed.
Jaucian’s departure brings the total number of vacant ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the Philippines to seven, joining the dioceses of Parañaque, Masbate, Kabankalan, Ilagan, and Borongan, alongside the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo, which have experienced vacancies due to resignations, transfers, or deaths.