Archbishop Florentino Galang Lavarias

Archbishop Florentino Galang Lavarias, Archbishop of San Fernando, was born on March 14, 1957, in Santa Ines, Mabalacat, Pampanga, in the Archdiocese of San Fernando. After attending primary and secondary schools in Pampanga, he studied business management at Holy Angel University, and then completed his philosophical and theological studies at San Carlos Seminary. He was ordained a priest for San Fernando on September 26, 1985. He exercised his priestly ministry as assistant parish priest of the cathedral of San Fernando (1985-1986); spiritual director of Mother of Good Counsel Seminary (1986-1989); director of its pre-college department (1989-1995) and of its college department (1995-1996); director of the committee for the formation of priests (1995-1997); parish priest of Lord's Ascension parish in San Fernando (1996-1998); and a member and then principal staff head of the episcopal conference's Assisted Intensive Renewal programme (1998-2004). On June 19, 2004, he was appointed Bishop of Iba. He received episcopal ordination on August 12, 2004, at San Fernando, with Antonio Franco as principal consecrator and Paciano Basilio Aniceto and Gaudencio Borbon Rosales as co-consecrators, and he was installed on September 1, 2004. On July 25, 2014, he was appointed Archbishop of San Fernando, and he was installed on October 27, 2014. On July 22, 2023, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Balanga, ceasing to hold that office on March 1, 2025. Within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines he has served as chairman of the Episcopal Commission on the Clergy.