Julius Tonel

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Julius S. Tonel D.D.
Metropolitan Archbishop of Zamboanga
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Zamboanga
Province	Zamboanga
Appointed	April 25, 2023
Predecessor	Romulo T. de la Cruz
Other post(s)	Vice President-elect, CBCP (2025–present)
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Ipil (2007–2023)
Orders
Ordination	August 12, 1980 by Pedro Dean
Consecration	August 20, 2007 by Antonio Mabutas
Personal details
Born	Julius Sullan Tonel (1956-08-31) August 31, 1956 Davao, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Occupation	Archbishop
Alma mater	Pontifical Institute of St. Anselm
Motto	In Spiritu Et Veritate (Latin for 'In spirit and truth')
Coat of arms
Ordination history
History Diaconal ordination Ordained by Agnelo Rossi Date December 7, 1979 Place Santo Domingo Church, Quezon City Priestly ordination Ordained by Pedro Dean Date April 12, 1980 Place Santa Ana Church, Davao City Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Fernando Capalla Co-consecrators Romulo Valles Antonio Ledesma Date August 20, 2007 Place Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Julius Tonel as principal consecrator Glenn Corsiga July 29, 2025
Styles
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop, Monsignor

Julius “Joy” Sullan Tonel (born August 31, 1956) is a Filipino Catholic bishop appointed as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Zamboanga in April 2023. Previously he had served as bishop of Ipil since 2007.

Biography

Julius Tonel was born on August 31, 1956, to Primitivo Estrada Tonel (+) and Filipina Coching Sullan (+), both hailing from the province of Aklan. He is the youngest of six siblings.

In 1972 he graduated in high school at the Saint Francis Xavier Minor Seminary. In 1976 he completed his philosophical studies at the Saint Francis Xavier College Seminary, Davao City; later he would proceed with his theological studies at the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary in Manila.

On December 7, 1979, Julius Tonel was ordained to the diaconate by Cardinal Agnelo Rossi, then-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, at Santo Domingo Parish in Quezon City. On April 12, 1980, he was ordained to the priesthood at Santa Ana Church in Davao City by Pedro Dean, Auxiliary Bishop of Davao.

In the initial years of his ministry in Davao City, Father Tonel would be designated as Parochial Vicar of St. Jude Thaddaeus Parish, and of the San Pedro Cathedral. Likewise, he would be appointed as Director of the Archdiocesan Family and Life Apostolate. From 1982 to 1986, he would be assigned as Prefect of Discipline and, later, as Rector of the Saint Francis Xavier College Seminary; he would also be working with the vocations promotion ministry of the Archdiocese.

From 1986 to 1990, Father Tonel would proceed with his postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, Sant'Anselmo, Rome, completing a Licentiate in Sacred Liturgy. From 1990 to 2002, he would be assigned as a formator of the Saint Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao (Davao City)—subsequently ministering as Spiritual Director, as Vice-Rector and Professor, and eventually as Seminary Rector in 1997.  At the same time, Father Tonel would be appointed to several ministries: as Director of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Center in Davao; as President of the Archdiocesan Commission on Basic Ecclesial Communities; and as a consultor at the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Liturgy. In 2002, he was appointed Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Davao. Concurrently as Vicar General, Monsignor Julius Tonel was also the Parish Priest of the Ascension of the Lord Parish in Matina, Davao City, for four years. Likewise, he would be serving as the Chaplain of the Shrine of the Holy Infant of Prague in 2004, and as Parish Priest of San Pablo Parish in Matina in 2006.

Bishop of Ipil

On June 30, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Tonel as the third bishop for the Prelature of Ipil. He received episcopal consecration at the San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City on August 20, 2007, with then-Archbishop Fernando Capalla as the principal consecrator, and assisted by then-Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles, and then-Cagayan De Oro Archbishop (and former Bishop of Ipil) Antonio Ledesma, SJ. Tonel took possession of the Prelature on September 11, 2007, at the Saint Joseph the Worker Cathedral in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.

With the elevation of the territorial Prelature of Ipil to the rank of Diocese, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Tonel as the first bishop of the Diocese of Ipil on May 3, 2010. From 2011 to 2016, he would also take office as the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Archbishop of Zamboanga

On April 25, 2023, Pope Francis appointed Tonel to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Zamboanga as its seventh archbishop, succeeding the late Archbishop Romulo Dela Cruz, who served the post from May 2014 until his death from illness in December 2021. Ahead of his installation, Tonel received the pallium — the symbol of his authority as metropolitan archbishop — on June 29, 2023, in Rome. He was then installed on August 22, 2023, with Cardinal Jose Advincula, Archbishop of Manila presiding the Mass for his installation. He was also designated to the CBCP Permanent Council as the Regional Representative for South Mindanao on July 8, 2023.

At the 130th plenary assembly of the CBCP in Anda, Bohol, Tonel was elected as the vice president of the episcopal conference, succeeding Mylo Hubert Vergara. He is set to assume his position on December 1.