Zamboanga’s Archbishop De la Cruz dies at 74

Archbishop Romulo de la Cruz who served the Archdiocese of Zamboanga for seven years died Dec. 10 at age 74.

De la Cruz died at Zamboanga Doctors’ Hospital where he was brought due to “erratic heartbeat”.

Fr. Armand Aquino, the archdiocese’s chancellor, said the archbishop also had a “very low blood pressure and slight fever”.

“He has long suffered from his illness and is now given relief to enjoy eternal peace in heaven,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

“We offer our prayers to God for the soul of Abp. Rommy, for his family and we pray for our Archdiocese of Zamboanga,” it added.

The archdiocese is currently under its Auxiliary Bishop, Moises Cuevas, who was appointed apostolic administrator “sede plena”.

The appointment was made by Pope Francis last Aug. 11, while De la Cruz was recovering from a stroke.

De la Cruz was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Cotabato in 1972. In 1987, he was named coadjutor bishop of Isabela. He became the bishop of the same prelature in 1989.

In 2001, he was named coadjutor bishop of San Jose de Antique. He succeeded as bishop of the diocese in 2002.

De la Cruz also served as bishop of Kidapawan from 2008 until 2014 when he was appointed archbishop of Zamboanga.

The archdiocese has yet to announce details of wake and funeral services. (CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published on CBCP News.