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Pope names new Auxiliary Bishop for Pampanga
27 MAY 2006 - His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed today Rev. Fr. Pablo Virgilio Siongco David as Auxiliary Bishop of San Fernando, Pampanga. David's appointment was officially announced 12:00 noon in Rome today (6:00 Manila time).
Fr. David is currently serving as the Director of Formation of the Theology Department at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, San Fernando, Pampanga.
Born in Guagua, Pampanga, the 47-year old auxiliary bishop-elect is one of the 13 children (including newspaper columnist and University of the Philippines Sociology Professor Randolf David) of the late Pedro David and Beinvenida Siongco of Pampanga.
David spent his minor seminary formation at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary in San Fernando, Pampanga, and his college seminary formation (1974-1978) at the San Jose Seminary, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City with a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Divinity degree.
Thereafter, David took his Master of Arts degree in Theology (1978-1984) at the Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University (Quezon City) and proceeded to earn his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) degree (1986-1988) from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. The following year he took up Doctorate degree in Sacred Theology (STD), also at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
Ordained priest in 1983, Fr. David first served as assistant parish priest of Santa Lucia Parish in Sasmoan, Pampanga.
From 1984 up to the present, Fr. David has held several major positions at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga: as Director of the Philosophy Department (1984-1986), as Dean of the Graduate School of Theology (1992-1996), as Spiritual Director of the Theology Department (1996-2000), and as Director of Formation of the Theology Department from 2000 until now.
The new auxiliary bishop-elect likewise held some key responsibilities at the San Fernando Archdiocese, notable among which are: as Director of the Pastoral Secretariat (1992-1993), as Director of the Committee for the Clergy Ongoing Formation (1993-1996), as Director of the Archdiocesan Commission on Clergy Affairs (1996-2000), and as Vice President of the Archdiocesan Media Apostolate Networks Unlimited, Inc. from 2004 up to the present.
Fr. David has also since been a regular guest professor of Scriptures at the Maryhill School of Theology, Quezon City and at the Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University, also in Quezon City.
Fr. David is also currently the vice president of the Catholic Biblical Association of the Philippines, a position he has held since 2003.
The Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga is headed by Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto who has taken an active role in the implementation of the Year of Social Concerns. "The Archdiocese has taken as its starting point the phrase from the Gospel of John, 'fullness of life',"
"This is our vision for the people of Pampanga and this is what we work towards daily. Our search for the fullness of life has led us to concentrate on a developmental approach that motivates the participation and empowerment of people," stressed Aniceto who also heads the CBCP Commission on Family and Life.
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