Mario Iceta Gavicagogeascoa takes possession as Bishop of Bilbao

Monsignor Mario Iceta Gavicagogeascoa will take office as Bishop of Bilbao at noon today, Monday, October 11, at the Cathedral of Santiago in the Basque town of Bilbao.

The ceremony will be attended by 29 bishops and archbishops from other Spanish dioceses, as well as the deputy general of Bizkaia, Jose Luis Bilbao, The mayor of Bilbao, Inaki Azkuna, the rector of the University of Deusto, Jaime Oraa, and the provincial of the Jesuits, Juan Jose Etxebarria, among others.

Eleven days ago, 600 priests of the diocese of Bilbao asked Iceta for “participation and continuity” in the Biscayan church.

Iceta is the sixth bishop of Bilbao and was chosen to be Auxiliary Bishop on February 5, 2008. The diocese had been vacant since then-Bishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez was named Archbishop of Valladolid in March 2010.

Mario Iceta Gavicagogeascoa was born in Gernika (Biscay) on 21 March 1965. He was ordained priest on July 16, 1994 and a PhD in Medicine and Surgery, University of Navarra (1995), with a thesis on Bioethics and Medical Ethics. He is also Doctor of Theology by John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Rome (2002) with a thesis on fundamental moral.

Iceta is founder of the Andalusian Society of Bioethics Research (Cordoba, 1993) and the journal Bioethics and Health Sciences (1993). He gave several conferences and Bioethics courses both in Spain and abroad and has numerous articles in professional journals in Bioethics and Moral Theology, as well as collaborations in various publications and dictionaries.