José S. Palma

Early life

Palma was born in Dingle, Iloilo, in the Archdiocese of Jaro. He studied philosophy at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary and theological studies at the St. Joseph Regional Seminary. He received his licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila, and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Jaro on August 21, 1976.

Palma earned a doctorate from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas, Angelicum in Rome in 1987 with a dissertation entitled Death as an Act: A Dialogue in Eschatology with Contemporary Theologians.

Priesthood

After a year as assistant priest at the Jaro Cathedral, he taught at his alma mater, St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary. After his studies in Rome, he became rector of the seminary until he was appointed rector of the major seminary of the Metropolitan Province of Jaro-the St. Joseph Regional Seminary, in 1988. Meanwhile, he also held various positions in several diocesan commissions. In 1997 he was made parish priest of the Parish of St Anthony of Padua in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo (Archdiocese of Jaro). On November 28, 1997, Pope John Paul II appointed him Titular Bishop of Vazari Diddi and Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu. He was consecrated on January 13, 1998. Exactly a year later, he was made Bishop-Ordinary of the See of Calbayog.

As metropolitan archbishop

Metropolitan Archbishop of Palo

On March 18, 2006, Palma was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Palo by Pope Benedict XVI, succeeding Archbishop-Emeritus Pedro R. Dean.

Metropolitan Archbishop of Cebu

On October 15, 2010, he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Cebu, replacing Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, who had been archbishop for 29 years. He was installed on January 13, 2011, at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. He served as vice-president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines from December 1, 2009, until July 11, 2011, on which he was elected president.

In 2018, he joined the Order of Preachers.

Pope Francis named him a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture on November 11, 2019.

In December 2024, Archbishop Palma suspended indefinitely the celebration of Traditional Tridentine Mass (TLM) in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu until further notice.

After 14 years of leading the Archdiocese of Cebu, Pope Leo XIV accepted his retirement at the age of 75 (the mandatory retirement age for bishops) on July 16, 2025, and appointed Alberto Uy, Bishop of Tagbilaran, as his successor.

Notes

References

References

1. (26 January 2018). "Archbishop Palma Joins Dominican Order".
2. (15 October 2010). "Rinuncia dell'Arcivescovo Metropolita di Cebu (Filippine) e Nomina del Successore".
3. "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cebu, Philippines".
4. (13 January 2011). "Joy and Sadness Greet Changing of the Guard". Sun.Star Cebu.
5. (26 January 2018). "Archbishop Palma joins Dominican Order".
6. (11 November 2019). "Resignations and Appointments, 11.11.2019". Holy See Press Office.
7. (December 4, 2024). "Cebu Archbishop Palma suspends Traditional Latin Mass". [[Rappler]].
8. Lagarde, Roy. (2025-07-16). "Pope names new Cebu archbishop". CBCP News.