Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Rafael Cruz as the new bishop of the Diocese of Baguio.

His appointment was announced by the Vatican on Thursday.

The diocese has been “sede vacante” (without a bishop) since May 2023 when Archbishop Victor Bendico assumed the leadership of the Archdiocese of Capiz.

During the vacancy, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction has been under the care of Fr. Roland Buyagan as diocesan administrator.

Cruz, 64, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan and currently the parish priest of St. Ildephonse Parish in Malasiqui, Pangasinan.

The bishop-elect is also one of the vicar foranes in the archdiocese, led by Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

Born in Mapandan, Pangasinan, Cruz studied philosophy at the San Pablo Regional College Seminary in Baguio and finished his theology studies at the Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Vigan City.

Cruz was ordained priest in September 1985. He also holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology and a doctorate of philosophy in clinical psychology from the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).

He did his residency training at Loyola University of Chicago and the Carl Jung Institute in Evanston, Illinois.

Cruz was also the parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul in Calasiao, Pangasinan, from 1985 to 1987.

He was also a visiting professor at the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City from 1999 to 2004, a spiritual director and psychologist advisor for seminarians in Batanes, and a teacher at the Center for Family Ministries at ADMU in 2004.