Midyphil Billones

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type = bishop

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend

| name = Midyphil Billones

| honorific-suffix = D.D., STD

| title = Metropolitan Archbishop of Jaro

| image = Midyphil B. Billones (cropped).jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Billones in 2025

| church = Catholic Church

| province = Jaro

| see = Jaro

| appointed = February 2, 2025

| enthroned = April 2, 2025

| predecessor = Jose Romeo Lazo

| successor =

| ordination = October 2, 1995

| ordained_by = Alberto Jover Piamonte

| consecration = August 27, 2019

| consecrated_by = Jose Romeo Lazo

| birth_name = Midyphil Bermejo Billones

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|7|4}}

| birth_place = Panay, Capiz, Philippines

| residence =

| nationality = Filipino

| other_post = {{indented plainlist|

Member, CBCP Commission on Doctrine of the Faith
Member, CBCP Commission on Seminaries

}}

| previous_post = {{indented plainlist|

Rector, St. Joseph Regional Seminary (2013-2019)
Priest, Archdiocese of Jaro (1995–2019)
Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu (2019–2025)

}}

| alma_mater = {{Ubl

| St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary

| Loyola School of Theology

| Pontifical Gregorian University

}}

| motto = {{langnf|la|Domine tu omnia scis tu cognoscis quia amo te!|Lord, you know everything, You know that I love you!|break=yes|paren=left}} – [https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=John%2021:15&version=nrsv John 21:15])

| module = {{Ordination

| denomination = Catholic

| embed = yes

| date of priestly ordination = October 2, 1995

| ordained priest by = Alberto Jover Piamonte

| consecrated by = Jose Romeo Lazo

| co-consecrators = {{Ubl

| Jose S. Palma

| Angel N. Lagdameo

}}

| date of consecration = August 27, 2019

| place of consecration = Jaro Cathedral

}}

| module2 = {{Infobox bishop styles|embed=yes

| name = Midyphil B. Billones

| image = Coat of arms of Midyphil Bermejo Billones (Jaro).svg

| image_size = 150

| dipstyle = *His Excellency

The Most Reverend

| offstyle = Your Excellency

| relstyle = Archbishop

}}

| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Midyphil Bermejo Billones (Jaro).svg

}}

Midyphil "Dodong" Bermejo Billones (born July 4, 1969) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the current Metropolitan Archbishop of Jaro, having been appointed by Pope Francis in 2025.

Early life and education

Midyphil Bermejo Billones was born on July 4, 1969, in Panay,{{Cite news|title=Pope appoints Billones as new Jaro archbishop |url=https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/2/pope-appoints-billones-as-new-jaro-archbishop |first=Tara |last=Yap |work=Manila Bulletin |date=February 2, 2025 |access-date=February 2, 2025}} Capiz, Philippines.{{Cite news|title=Pope names Iloilo priest as Cebu auxiliary bishop |url=https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/pope-names-iloilo-priest-as-cebu-auxiliary-bishop/ |first=Roy |last=Lagarde |date=July 16, 2019 |work=CBCP News |access-date=February 2, 2025}}

He studied philosophy at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City, then obtained a master's degree in theology at Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City.{{Cite news|title=Iloilo priest named new Cebu auxiliary bishop |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/iloilo-priest-fr-midyphil-billones-named-new-cebu-auxiliary-bishop |work=SunStar |date=July 17, 2019 |access-date=February 2, 2025}} In 2011, during his tenure as priest of the Archdiocese of Jaro, he obtained his Doctorate in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

Ministry

=Priesthood=

Billones was ordained to the priesthood on October 2, 1995. He then served as parochial vicar of Jaro Cathedral until 1997.{{Cite web | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2025/02/02/0100/00208.html | title = Rinuncia e nomina dell’Arcivescovo Metropolita di Jaro (Filippine) | website = vatican.va | date = 2025-02-02 | lang = it | access-date = 2025-02-02}} He also served as the personal secretaries of former archbishops Alberto Jover Piamonte and Angel Lagdameo from 1997 to 2001.

Within the Archdiocese of Jaro, he was a member of its presbyteral council from 2000 to 2001, as well as the archdiocese's chancellor until 2004. He was also the rector of St. Joseph Regional Seminary in Iloilo City from 2013 to 2019.

=Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu=

On July 16, 2019, Pope Francis named Billones auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cebu and titular bishop of Tagarata. His appointment made him an assistant of Archbishop José S. Palma. He was ordained to the episcopate at Jaro Cathedral on August 27,{{Cite news|title=Bishop Billones returns to Jaro as its new archbishop |url=https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/bishop-billones-returns-to-jaro-as-its-new-archbishop/ |first=Roy |last=Lagarde |date=February 2, 2025 |work=CBCP News |access-date=February 2, 2025}} and was welcomed in a reception Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on September 26.{{Cite news|title=Who is Bishop Midyphil “Dodong” Billones? |first=Delta Dyrecka |last=Letigio |date=September 26, 2019 |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/260435/who-is-bishop-midyphil-dodong-billones |work=Cebu Daily News |access-date=February 2, 2025}}

Within the Archdiocese of Cebu, he became a member of the archdiocese's Council of Consultors in 2019. He was also the moderator of the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue, Cebu.

On November 21, 2019, in one of his homilies, Billones admitted and "confessed" to almost losing his faith but eventually rediscovering it. He admitted that when his mother died in 2013, he stopped praying the Rosary because "Mary left my mom". He further said that he was "doubting" on his priestly vocation due to grief and depression. However, while trapped in the middle of Metro Manila's heavy traffic jams, he rediscovered his faith when he saw a poster of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which led him to become emotional. He then said in his homily that he experienced the "grace of healing", which further motivated him to start praying again.{{Cite news|title=How a Filipino bishop lost, then rediscovered his faith |url=https://www.licas.news/2019/11/27/how-a-filipino-bishop-lost-then-rediscovered-his-faith/ |first=Roy |last=Lagarde |work=LiCAS.news |date=November 27, 2019 |access-date=February 2, 2025}}

Within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), he is a member of the conference's Commission on Doctrine of the Faith, and Commission on Seminaries.

==Coat of arms==

File:Coat of arms of Midyphil Bermejo Billones.svg|Coat of arms as Auxiliary Bishop

=Metropolitan Archbishop of Jaro=

On February 2, 2025, Pope Francis appointed Billones as the fourteenth Metropolitan Archbishop of Jaro. He succeeded Jose Romeo Lazo, who resigned a year after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. His appointment coincided with Candlemas. He was installed exactly two months later in the presence of Lazo, Archbishop José S. Palma of Cebu, Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila, and Archbishop Charles John Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.{{Cite news|title=Billones officially installed as new Jaro archbishop |url=https://mb.com.ph/2025/4/2/billones-officially-installed-as-new-jaro-archbishop |first=Tara |last=Yap |work=Manila Bulletin |date=April 2, 2025 |access-date=April 2, 2025}}