Pope appoints new Cotabato archbishop

VATICAN— Pope Leo XIV on Monday appointed Bishop Charlie Inzon of Jolo as the next archbishop of Cotabato in the southern Philippines.

Inzon, 59, will succeed Archbishop Angelito Lampon, whose resignation was accepted by the pope after he turned 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops, on March 1. Lampon had led the archdiocese since January 2019.

The appointment was announced at the Vatican at 12 noon, or 6 p.m. in the Philippines, on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Born in Brgy. Putiao, Pilar, Sorsogon in 1965, Inzon entered the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) congregation in 1982 and made his perpetual profession in 1990.

He studied philosophy at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City and theology at the Loyola School of Theology of Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.

He was ordained a priest for the Oblates on April 24, 1993, in Caloocan City.

Inzon later served in parishes and schools, including as president of Notre Dame College in Jolo and Notre Dame University in Cotabato. He became provincial superior of the Oblates in 2018 before being named apostolic vicar of Jolo in 2020.

The archbishop-designate also holds a master’s degree in theology from Loyola and a doctorate in psychology from Ateneo.

Inzon was ordained bishop on May 21, 2020, at Cotabato Cathedral and was installed in Jolo on July 16 of the same year.

In the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, he currently chairs the Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education.

No date has been set yet for his installation as the fifth archbishop of Cotabato. (Charm Villegas/CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published by CBCP News.