Pope accepts Abra Bishop Jaucian’s resignation; Who will take over Bangued Diocese?

BANGUED, Abra – After nearly 19 years of leading the Diocese of Bangued, Bishop Leopoldo C. Jaucian has stepped down following the acceptance by Pope Leo XIV of his early resignation on November 7, leaving the diocese under a period known in Church law as sede vacante or vacant see.

The Holy See Press Office announced that the pope accepted Jaucian’s resignation under Paragraph 2 of Canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law, which allows a bishop to resign before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 due to ill health or another grave reason.

The Vatican, however, did not disclose the circumstances behind the 66-year-old bishop’s early resignation.

Following the announcement, the Diocese of Bangued appealed to the faithful to continue praying for Jaucian, whom they fondly call “Bishop Pol.”

A member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), Jaucian served the Diocese of Bangued, which covers the entire province of Abra, for almost two decades.

Born in Santa, Ilocos Sur, on July 27, 1960, Jaucian began serving as a sacristan in Quezon City in 1976. The experience helped inspire his vocation to the priesthood.

He studied philosophy at the seminary, professed his vows as an SVD member in 1981, and was ordained a priest on March 12, 1988.

Before becoming a bishop, he held several key positions in the Church, including parish priest of the National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus in Manila, superior of the SVD Manila District, and provincial superior of the SVD Philippine Central Province.

On January 5, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Bangued. He received episcopal ordination two months later and was subsequently installed as head of the diocese.

Throughout his ministry, Jaucian also took active roles in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), serving multiple terms as chair of the Episcopal Commission on Youth. He also chaired the Episcopal Commission on Mutual Relations.

With his resignation, the Diocese of Bangued becomes the seventh ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the country currently without a bishop. The other vacant dioceses are Parañaque, Masbate, Kabankalan, Ilagan, Borongan, and Jolo, whose vacancies resulted from resignations, deaths, or the reassignment of bishops.

Who takes over?

Under Canon 421 of the Code of Canon Law, the Diocese of Bangued’s College of Consultors, a council composed of selected priests, must convene within eight days of the vacancy to elect a diocesan administrator.

The administrator will temporarily oversee the diocese and manage its affairs until the pope appoints a new bishop to succeed Jaucian.