TUGUEGARAO CITY — Archdiocese Archbishop Sergio Utleg of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated the golden jubilee of his Sacerdotal Ordination at the St. Peter Cathedral here on Saturday.
Archbishop Utleg’s commemoration of his 50th year of priesthood was graced by His Excellency Most Reverend Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the Apostolic Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, who led the grand Mass with priests in the archdiocese.
Church records said Archbishop Utleg, born on Sept. 11, 1943 in Solana, Cagayan, was ordained as a sacerdotal priest on March 30, 1968 in New York in the United States of America. His episcopal ordination was on March 17, 1997 at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Tuguegarao.
He was appointed Bishop of Laoag by Pope Benedict XVI on Nov. 13, 2006. The bishop was installed on Jan. 11, 2007 at St. William Cathedral, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
On June 15, 2011, Bishop Utleg was proclaimed as new archbishop of Tuguegarao. He was also appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Ilagan, Isabela by succession after the formal acceptance by Rome of Bishop Miguel Purugganan’s letter of resignation on July 26, 1999. He also served as Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Ilagan, Isabela from Feb. 10, 1997 to June 14, 2011.
The bishop is the incumbent chairperson of the Episcopal Commission on Indigenous People of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. (Bill Visaya/PNA)
