anuary 15, 2025 is the installation rites day of Canon Law expert Bishop Nolly C. Buco as the new bishop of Catarman diocese to be held at the Our Lady of Annunciation Cathedral in Catarman, Northern Samar.
Simply named “Nolly”, this resonates very well with his persona: humble, unassuming, and magnanimous.
Paradoxes Along The Way
Rightly so. Because his journey from his seminary formation to the priesthood was hatched in humble beginnings. A lowly probinsyano from Southern Leyte, Bishop Nolly’s journey to the episcopate is full of paradoxes: 1) While he failed to qualify in entering two theology seminaries, he later ended up earning a Master’s degree in Dogmatic Theology, a Licentiate in Canon Law, and two Doctorate degrees in Canon Law (JCD) and in Juridical Science (JSD);
2) Erstwhile hopping from one seminary to another and spending a regency period out of the seminary to work in a government agency, he unexpectedly ended becoming a bishop, and even as chairman of CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Canon Law, and 3) while he struggled with poverty and could hardly afford to pay his seminary fees, he still survived it all to climb the ladder of episcopacy, and becoming the Judicial Vicar of the National Tribunal of Appeals of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
Buco took his AB Philosophy from Sacred Heart Seminary in Palo, Leyte, and upon graduation, he was expecting to be sent by his Bishop to Cebu’s San Carlos Seminary for Theologate. But, as his first travail, he was not recommended for admission.
After spending some few months with the diocese, Bishop Nolly decided to come to Manila and look for a job. He landed as a Development Officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) NCR office, and was assigned in Tanay, Rizal, where he met the late Bishop Protacio Gungon, the first bishop of Antipolo diocese.
A lowly probinsyano from Southern Leyte, Bishop Nolly’s journey to the episcopate is full of paradoxes…
Strong Vocation
In early 1989, after two years with DSWD, he approached Bishop Gungon and expressed his intent to continue his priestly studies. Gungon thus recommended him to take the entrance examination at the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City. Again, for the second time, he was deemed not qualified.
Gungon then advised the young Buco to apply at the Immaculate Conception Theology Seminary, Guiguinto, Bulacan, where he spent four years of theological studies.
Bishop Nolly recalls his first year of Theologate at the Bulacan seminary: “When I entered the seminary, my initial payment for my board-and-lodging came from the minuscule separation pay I received from DSWD. My parents could not even afford to provide my monthly allowance for my miscellaneous needs.” He was able to finish his Theology formation through the support of a kind benefactor.
On October 18, 1993, he was ordained priest by his gracious mentor, Bp. Gungon.
Further Studies
Throughout his priestly journey, he laboriously pursued several studies: finished his Master’s degree in Dogmatic Theology; earned his Licentiate in Canon Law (JCL) at UST Manila; obtained his Doctorate in Canon Law (JCD), also from UST, in 2004; attended the PhD program in Anthropology at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, and obtained his Doctorate in Juridical Science (JSD) from San Beda University Graduate School of Law.
Bishop Buco is author of the recently published book, “Freeing Distressed Couples From Guilt: The Need for State Recognition of the Church’s Declaration of Marriage Nullity.” His upcoming book is “Shepherding Christ’s Faithful: A Pastoral Guide on the Juridical Recognition of Pious Associations and Administration of the Church’s Temporal Goods.”
Bishop Nolly Buco. From humble beginnings to the Episcopal See of Catarman.
