Archbishop-designate Alberto Uy of Cebu during Mass at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Loboc, Bohol on July 4, 2025. ROY LAGARDE/CBCP NEWS
MANILA -- Archbishop Alberto Uy’s first test as Cebu’s spiritual leader came on the same night of his installation: consoling a people shaken by a strong earthquake in the province.
The tremor, initially put at magnitude 6.7 but later upgraded to 6.9, killed at least 53, sent crowds into streets, and significantly damaged some old churches across Cebu.
A statement from the archdiocese early Wednesday said Uy has ordered a structural assessment of all churches and rectories in Cebu.
“These are difficult times, but our faith reminds us that God is in control,” Uy wrote on social media, as he condoled with the victims.
In Daanbantayan, the quake brought to near ruin a church dedicated to St. Rose of Lima, erected in 1886 and now considered a heritage site in the province.
“We humbly implore everyone in the entire Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines to please pray for all of us,” the parish social media account wrote. The church also cancelled Masses indefinitely.
Footage also showed a portion of another church, St. Peter’s parish in Bantayan Island, falling as the ground shook.
The Cebu archdiocese has told affected parishes in the northern part of the province not to hold Masses in the churches until the buildings are declared safe.
'DAUNTING CALL'
Tuesday’s quake and the devastation that followed contrasted the celebratory mood in the province earlier in the day to mark Uy’s installation as Cebu archbishop.
He is the fifth archbishop of the known cradle of Christianity in the Philippines, home to 4.7 million faithful, and of the revered image of the Child Jesus or Santo Niño, as well as the colorful and lively commemoration of its feast, the Sinulog.
READ: Alberto Uy is new Cebu archbishop
As he took possession of the bishop’s chair at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, throngs of Catholic faithful cheered him on along with top clergymen, among them: the Pope's envoy to the country, Archbishop Charles Brown, and Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle, Pablo Virgilio David, and Jose Advincula.
Uy, 58, acknowledged the new assignment, made by Pope Leo XIV in July, would alter the course of his life and ministry after almost a decade as bishop of his hometown Tagbilaran in Bohol.
"I have always believed that God has his own way of doing things," he said in his address. "And it is only because of this conviction that I found the courage to say 'Yes' to this daunting call."
His arrival in Cebu comes at the Year of Jubilee for Catholics, and as reforms get underway to give, among others, a greater role for lay Catholics in the Church under a process known as synodality.
"The archdiocese is so big and my capacity so little," said Uy, in an apparent recognition of Cebu as the largest See in the country. "I promise to give you my best, so we can walk closer to Christ, our true shepherd."
One of Uy’s first acts in the province this week was to share a meal with the poor during a visit to a parish-run center in Mabolo.
“My mission is first and foremost to care for the little ones: the street children, the abandoned and the forgotten,” he was quoted by church-run CBCP News.
He also visited the Santo Niño shrine, and met with Augustinian priests, who count as among their confreres the Pope.
The Governor of Cebu, Pam Baricuatro, likewise hosted a dinner for Uy the day before the installation Mass.
Archbishop Abet, as he is known, was ordained to the priesthood in 1993. He succeeded Jose Palma, who retired after leading the Cebu archdiocese for nearly 15 years.
Two of Uy’s predecessors — Julio Rosales and Ricardo Vidal — were made cardinals, a title that skipped Palma who was archbishop during most of the reign of Pope Francis, known for giving the “red hat” to prelates far from traditional centers of the faith.