S.E.R. Jose Serofia Palma

Jose Serofia Palma, the Archbishop of Cebu, is a student of philosophy and theology. He obtained a doctoral degree in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1976. First, he became a teacher at the seminary, then later was appointed rector of the institution. He held positions in several different bodies in the dioceses. In 1997, the Pope appointed him the Titular Bishop of Didzi Vazari and the Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu. Then in 2006, Pope Benedict appointed him as Archbishop of Palmat Palo. Jose Serofia Palma is the Vice President of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, and he has been serving as the Archbishop of Cebu since 2010. In 2018, he in was involved in a life-threatening situation. He was in Manila when a deranged armed man with a mask on his face broke into his home to ask for advice about saving his ruined marriage. Eventually the armed man, Jeffrey Cañedo, who was suffering from depression, lost his life in the ensuing shootout with the police after their arrival at the scene. After the incident, the Archbishop gave a phone call to the father of Cañedo, and offered to help him. Drug use and drug-related crimes pose a huge problem in the country. The Archbishop of Cebu – who speaks six languages – will need to travel the greatest distance to be with us at the IEC – 11 000 kilometres.