Cebu archbishop tests positive for Covid-19
Church • 20:15 PM Sat Feb 20, 2021
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By:
CBCP
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma presides over the Ash Wednesday mass with the members of the archbishop’s residence household in Cebu City on Feb. 17, 2021. SCREENSHOT/CACSC
Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu has tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, making him the seventh Filipino prelate to contract the disease.
The archdiocese made the announcement on Friday following confirmation from swab and laboratory results.
Monsignor Joseph Tan, spokesman of the archdiocese, said that Palma is now under the medical care at the Perpetual Succour Hospital in Cebu.
“The archbishop remains in a stable condition. Let us all pray for his steady and speedy recovery,” Tan said.
Palma was last publicly seen during a private Ash Wednesday service, which was live streamed from his residence’s chapel.
“The people who have been in close contact with the Archbishop have also been informed about the matter,” Tan added.
The 70-year old archbishop contracted the virus as the archdiocese is busy preparing for the 500th year commemoration of the first baptism in the Philippines set to be held on April 14.
The event will also launch the archdiocese’s quincentennial celebration of Christianity in the country.