26/04/2023
Congratulations Archbishop Elect- Bishop JuliusTonel, DD.
DEO GRATIAS | The Holy Father, Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Julius Tonel of the Diocese of Ipil as the new Archbishop of Zamboanga. The appointment was made public in Rome today, April 25, at 12 noon (6:00 pm local time).
Bishop Julius Sullan Tonel was born in Davao City on Aug. 31, 1956. He studied philosophy at Saint Francis Xavier Minor Seminary in Davao, and theology at the Central Seminary of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He was ordained a priest on April 12, 1980 in Sta. Ana, Parish, Davao City at the age of 23. Bishop Julius Sullan Tonel earned his Licentiate in Liturgical Theology at the Saint Anselmo Pontifical Institute of Liturgy in Rome. He has served major roles in the archdiocese of Davao as a then director of the Archdiocesan Family Apostolate, then as rector of the Archdiocesan Seminary, and president of the Commission for Basic Ecclesiastical Communities. For five years, he was also the rector of the Regional Major Seminary.
He became the vicar general of the archdiocese of Davao in 2002. He was appointed bishop on June 30, 2007 and was ordained bishop on Aug. 20, 2007 at San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City. He was installed as the third Bishop of the Prelature of Ipil on the Sept. 11, 2007 in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay - several days after the kidnapped Italian missionary, Giancarlo Bossi was released from his perpetrators. Thus, he was freshly confronted with a big challenge of leading the prelature into healing and dialogue. Bishop Tonel is the first ordinary of the territory who is not a Jesuit. With the elevation of the territorial prelature of Ipil to the rank of diocese, with the same name and territorial configuration as before, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Julius S. Tonel, prelate of Ipil, on May 3, 2010, as first bishop of the new diocese.