Pope Francis has appointed Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr, the current bishop of Boac in Marinduque province, as the new bishop of San Pablo in Laguna province.
His appointment was announced in Rome at 12 noon on Saturday, which was 6 p.m. in the Philippines.
He will take over a diocese that has been vacant since September 2023, following the resignation of Bishop Buenaventura Famadico for health reasons.
Since then, the diocese has been overseen by Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig, who has served as apostolic administrator.
After completing his philosophical studies at St. Francis de Sales Major Seminary in Lipa City, Maralit earned his licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.
Maralit was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Lipa on March 13, 1995.
He later attended the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in Church History.
In December 2014, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Boac at the age of 45. He was ordained to the episcopate on March 13, 2015, and was installed as bishop of Boac four days later.
As a member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Maralit currently chairs its Episcopal Commission on Social Communications.
