Fernando Robles Capalla is a Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Davao

Archdiocese of Davao

The Archdiocese of Davao is an ecclesiatical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. It is a Metropolitan See in the island of Mindanao...

. He was born on November 1, 1934 in Leon, Iloilo

Iloilo

Iloilo is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Iloilo occupies the southeast portion of Panay Island and is bordered by Antique Province to the west and Capiz Province and the Jintotolo Channel to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast coast is Guimaras Province,...

 Province.

Early years

The young Nanding started education from Leon Central Elementary School in his hometown. He took his secondary schooling at Colegio de San Agustin. His seminary years began at the San Vicente Ferrer Seminary in Jaro, Iloilo from 1950-1961. He took further studies from St. John's University in New York, USA in 1967 acquiring an MA in English Literature.

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

Archdiocese of Jaro

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The cathedral for the archdiocese, the Parish of Our Lady of Candles, also known as the Jaro Cathedral is in Jaro a district of Iloilo City, Iloilo on the island of...

. He was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Davao on April 2, 1975 at the age of 40. He was also appointed as titular bishop of Grumentum on that same date. On April 25, 1977 he was appointed as bishop-prelate of Iligan, a city in Mindanao, and appointed as bishop of Iligan on November 15, 1982 when it was raised to a full-fledged diocese. In 1987, Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

, he was appointed as Apostolic Administrator of the newly-created Prelature of St. Mary's in Marawi, Lanao del Sur.

Archbishop of Davao

He became the Coadjutor Archbishop of Davao on June 28, 1994. He was formally installed to lead the archdiocese as its third archbishop and metropolitan in November 28, 1996. At 76 years of age, he is still the Archbishop of Davao, even though he has reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, pending the selection of his successor by the Holy Father. He served as President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for one term, from December 2003 to December 2005. Archbishop Capalla is a Council Member of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) and is one of the Founders/Convenors of the Bishops-Ulama Conference. For over a decade now, he has been a Member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Archbishop Capalla is a staunch promoter of inter-religious dialogue among the tri-people of Mindanao- the Christians, the Muslims and the Lumads. He is well respected by all sectors of the society.

AWARDS:

1.Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa, from the Ateneo de Davao University, 1989.

2.National Awardee, San Lorenzo Ruiz Award for Peace and Unity, 1991.

3.Public Service Award for Peace, Ateneo de Manila University, July 30, 1998.

4.Aurora Aragon Quezon Peace Award for Peace Advocacy and Peace Building February 18, 2000.

External links

• http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bcapalla.html
• http://www.cbcponline.net/bishops/archbishops/capalla.html