Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Emmanuel Trance as the head of the Diocese of Catarman in Northern Samar.
According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website, the Holy Father appointed Antipolo Auxiliary Bishop Nolly Buco as the apostolic administrator of the diocese until a new bishop is selected.
The resignation and appointment were announced in the Vatican on Friday.
Trance, who resigned five years ahead of the mandatory retirement age of 75, was ordained for the Archdiocese of Jaro in 1978, and was appointed coadjutor bishop of Catarman in May 2004.
He was ordained to the episcopate on July 22 of the same year.
Trance assumed leadership of the diocese after the retirement of the first bishop of Catarman, the late Angel Hobayan, on March 10, 2005.
On the other hand, Buco, a canon lawyer was appointed as the auxiliary bishop of Antipolo in July 2018.
In 1993, he was ordained as Antipolo priest and consecrated as bishop in September 2018.
