Mati Bishop Abel Apigo to be installed as Davao archbishop on 14 January 2027

Bishop Abel Apigo of Mati will be formally installed as the new archbishop of Davao on 14 January 2027 at the San Pedro Metropolitan Cathedral in Davao City, according to the Daily Tribune.

The schedule was announced by Fr. Jaime Gamboa, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Davao, who invited Catholics to attend the ceremony and welcome their new archbishop. The announcement came after the Vatican confirmed on 9 November 2026 that Pope Leo XIV had appointed Apigo to head the archdiocese.

Apigo, 58, succeeds Archbishop Romulo Valles, who retired in July upon reaching 75, the customary retirement age for bishops. Valles had led the Archdiocese of Davao since 2012 and served as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines from December 2017 to November 2021. Before coming to Davao, he was bishop of Kidapawan from 1997 to 2006 and archbishop of Zamboanga from 2006 to 2012.

The incoming archbishop is a native of Calinan, Davao City, where he was born in 1968. He took up philosophy at Saint Francis Xavier College Seminary and theology at Saint Francis Xavier Major Seminary, both in the city, and later obtained a licentiate in Church history from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Apigo was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Davao in 1994. His roles in the archdiocese included parish vicar at San Pedro Cathedral and episcopal vicar for the clergy. He also held several academic posts at Saint Francis Xavier Major Regional Seminary, serving as professor, coordinator, vice rector, dean and rector. He has been bishop of Mati since 2018.

The January installation marks Apigo's return to the archdiocese where he was ordained and where he previously held various pastoral and administrative positions, the report said.