Fernando Robles Capalla (November 1, 1934 – January 6, 2024) was a Roman Catholic archbishop-emeritus of the

Archdiocese of Davao The Archdiocese of Davao (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Davaensis)'' is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It is a metropolitan see in southern Mindanao. The archdiocese comprises the city of Davao, The Island ...

. He was succeeded by Romulo Valles as archbishop of Davao on February 11, 2012. He died on January 6, 2024, at the age of 89.

Educational background

Capalla started his education at Leon Central Elementary School, and attended secondary schooling at Colegio de San Agustin in

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

. He continued his studies at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in

Jaro, Iloilo City Jaro (, ) is a district in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is the largest district in terms of both geographical area and population, with 130,700 people according to the 2020 census. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro, whi ...

from 1950 to 1961. He took further studies from St. John's University in New York, US, in 1967, earning an MA in English Literature.

Priesthood

Capalla was ordained priest on March 18, 1961, at the age of 26 as a diocesan priest of the

Archdiocese of Jaro The Archdiocese of Jaro (; ; ; ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines. Its episcopal see is at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also the National Shrine of ...

. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Davao on April 2, 1975, at the age of 40. He was also appointed titular bishop of

Grumentum Grumentum () was an ancient Roman city in the centre of Lucania, in what is now the ''comune'' of Grumento Nova, c. south of Potenza by the direct road through Anxia, and by the ', at the point of divergence of a road eastward to Heraclea. ...

on that same date. On April 25, 1977, he was appointed bishop-prelate of

Iligan City Iligan, officially the City of Iligan (; Bukid: ''Ciudad ta Iligan''; Maranao: ''Bandar a Iligan''; ), is a highly urbanized city in the region of Northern Mindanao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 363,115 ...

Lanao del Norte Lanao del Norte ( Cebuano: ''Amihanang Lanao''; ; Maranao: ''Pangotaraan Ranao''), officially the Province of Lanao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindanao region. Its capital is Tubod. The province border ...

province and subsequently appointed bishop on November 15, 1982, when it was raised to a full-fledged diocese. In 1987,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the newly created Prelature of St. Mary's in

Marawi City Marawi, officially the Islamic City of Marawi (Maranao language, Maranao: ''Bandar a Marawi''; ; Jawi script, Jawi ''(Batang Arab)'': ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the ...

Lanao del Sur Lanao del Sur (; Meranaw and ; Jawi ''(Batang Arab)'': ), officially the Province of Lanao del Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capital is the city of Marawi (th ...

Archbishop of Davao

Capalla became the Coadjutor Archbishop of Davao on June 28, 1994. He was formally installed to lead the archdiocese as its third archbishop and metropolitan on November 28, 1996. He served as President of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (abbreviated as CBCP) is the permanent organizational assembly of the Catholic bishops of the Philippines exercising together certain pastoral offices for the Christian faithful of their terr ...

(CBCP) for one term, from December 2003 to December 2005. Archbishop Capalla was a Council Member of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) and was one of the Founders/Convenors of the Bishops-Ulama Conference. For over a decade, he was a Member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Archbishop Capalla promoted inter-religious dialogue among the tri-people of Mindanao — the Christians, the Muslims, and the Lumads. Archbishop Capalla was succeeded by Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles as Primate of Davao.

Death

Capalla died on January 6, 2024, in Davao City, aged 89. He was interred at the crypt of the San Pedro Cathedral.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capalla, Fernando 1934 births 2024 deaths People from Iloilo 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines Visayan people Roman Catholic archbishops of Davao Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Presidents of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines