THOMASIAN Bishop Emeritus Manuel Sobreviñas of the Diocese of Imus, who was the oldest bishop in the Philippines, died on Saturday, July 18. He was 96.
According to the diocesan chancery, the prelate passed away at 12:45 p.m. at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan.
Sobreviñas finished his bachelor’s degrees in philosophy (1947) and theology (1951) at the UST Ecclesiastical Faculties.
He was ordained priest in 1951 for the Archdiocese of Manila.
In 1979, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Manila, and served for 14 years.
Sobreviñas was chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) commission for catechesis and Catholic education from 1991 to 1993.
In 1993, he was named the third bishop of the Diocese of Imus.
Sobreviñas retired in October 2001 at the age of 77, and was succeeded by Luis Antonio Tagle, later archbishop of Manila and now cardinal-prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The late bishop’s remains were to be brought to Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral in Imus and then to the Divine Mercy Parish in Biluso, Cavite.
