Jaro Archbishop Emeritus Angel Lagdameo, who served as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for four years, passed away on Friday, July 8. He was 81.
The Archdiocese of Jaro announced Lagdameo’s death in a Facebook post.
“Archbishop Angel Lagdameo returned to our Creator just this 8:30 a.m. at the age of 81. Let us include him in our prayers and masses,” the post read.
Lagdameo died due to health complications, according to Fr. Angelo Colada, social communications director of the archdiocese.
The archbishop was born on Aug. 2, 1940 in Lucban, Quezon and was ordained priest for the Diocese of Lucena on Dec. 19, 1964.
He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Cebu in June 1980.
In 1986, he was designated as co-adjutor bishop of Dumaguete and became bishop of the diocese in 1989.
Pope John Paul II named him archbishop of Jaro on March 11, 2000.
Lagdameo served as CBCP president from December 2005 to December 2009.
He was CBCP vice president for two terms or four years and chairman of the CBCP Commission on the Laity from 1990 to 2000.
He also chaired the Office of Laity of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
In July 2008, Lagdameo concelebrated Mass at the UST Grandstand in commemoration of the 40th year of Humanae vitae.
He also opened the diocesan process for the cause of Mother Maria Beatriz del Rosario Arroyo, O.P.’s canonization in 2009.
In 2018, Pope Francis accepted Lagdameo’s resignation at the age of 77, two years past his reaching the mandatory retirement age for archbishops and bishops. with reports from Allyssa Mae C. Cruz
