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Dave Dean Capucao
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Dave Dean Capucao

Bishop of Infanta
Bishop
1965
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Ordained
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Consecrated Bishop
Infanta
Diocese
Philippines
Country
The Life

Dave Dean Capucao was born September 25, 1965, in Camarines Sur. He entered the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM), studied philosophy at St. Louis University in Baguio and theology at Maryhill School of Theology in Quezon City, and entered the seminary of the Prelature of Infanta. He earned a master’s degree in intercultural and interreligious theology at Nijmegen in 2002, a doctorate in theology at Radboud University, Nijmegen, and a doctorate in sacred theology at the Université catholique de Louvain.

He was ordained a priest for the Prelature of Infanta on October 3, 1994. As a priest he was founding pastor of Nuestra Señora de Salvacion in Casiguran, Aurora (1994–2000); researcher at Radboud University (2002–2006); parish priest of St. Ludger in the Archdiocese of Utrecht (2007–2011); academic and pastoral director and formator of St. Joseph Formation House in Quezon City (2012–2014); rector of St. Joseph Formation House from 2015; teacher in various seminaries and theology schools from 2012; and superintendent of the Catholic Schools of the Prelature of Infanta (CASPI) from 2021. He is president of the Center for Empirical Studies on Spirituality, Theology, and Religion–Asia (CESSTREL-ASIA) and a member of the prelature’s Presbyteral Council, the Netherlands School for Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion (NOSTER), and the International Society of Empirical Research in Theology (ISERT). The prelature counts around 373,000 members.

Pope Leo XIV appointed him Bishop-Prelate of Infanta on May 16, 2025, his first appointment of a Filipino bishop, succeeding Bernardino Cortez, who resigned in July 2024 at 75. Capucao was ordained and installed on September 5, 2025, coinciding with the prelature’s 75th founding anniversary. He had no prior episcopal tenure; he was appointed from the St. Joseph Formation House rectorship. His consecrators, the installation venue, and his motto are not stated in any source opened for this dossier and are left unstated rather than supplied from unopened pages.

Major Works & Initiatives
Homilist, opening Mass, 131st CBCP plenary assembly
Preached at the opening Mass of the 131st CBCP plenary assembly at Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Cubao, on the Dumagat/Agta people of Infanta as moral teachers whose values expose inequality and exclusion, recalling the late Bishop Julio Labayen’s description of the Dumagat as “the privileged carriers of the Lord” and “God’s poor.” The RVA report is undated; the assembly is identified as the 131st plenary.
In His Own Words
Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath?
Homily, opening Mass, 131st CBCP plenary assembly (RVA)
Meron akong isang gantang bigas na hindi sapat sa isa, subalit husto para sa lahat
Dumagat proverb quoted in the plenary homily (RVA); RVA’s translation: “I have a measure of rice that is not enough for one, but enough for all”
For them, resources are not privileges to be hoarded, but blessings meant to be shared
Homily, opening Mass, 131st CBCP plenary assembly (RVA)
True fulfillment comes when everyone is nourished
Homily, opening Mass, 131st CBCP plenary assembly (RVA)
There are hands today that are withered because they are bound by social and economic injustice
Homily, opening Mass, 131st CBCP plenary assembly (RVA)
The question then is, who is the true Christian?
Homily, opening Mass, 131st CBCP plenary assembly (RVA)
The Old Mass, See by See
Infanta2025-09-05 – presentNo act of his own
What he inheritedNo decree, permission, suppression, expansion, or transfer of the Traditional Latin Mass by Bishop Capucao in Infanta was found in the searches listed. His public record as prelate, from September 2025, is the plenary homily on Indigenous values, not a liturgical act.
Since the SSPX decree of 2 July 2026: No statement recorded as of 2026-10-28.
Reviewed 2026-10-28Confidence: medium
Domus Dei’s Verdict
The Bishop & the Mass of Ages
No governing act of his own found

No decree, permission, suppression, expansion, or transfer of the Traditional Latin Mass by Bishop Capucao in Infanta was found in the searches listed.

His public record as prelate, from September 2025, is the plenary homily on Indigenous values, not a liturgical act.

References & Further Reading
1.
Nomina del Vescovo Prelato di Infanta (Filippine) — Holy See Press Office · press.vatican.va · 2025Appointment May 16, 2025, succeeding Cortez; born September 25, 1965; CICM; St. Louis University Baguio philosophy; Maryhill School of Theology; Radboud doctorate; Louvain doctorate in sacred theology; ordained priest October 3, 1994; posts including Casiguran founding pastor 1994-2000, Radboud researcher 2002-2006, St. Ludger Utrecht 2007-2011, St. Joseph Formation House director/formator 2012-2014 and rector from 2015, CASPI superintendent from 2021. The bulletin prints his birthplace as “Daet, Naga, Camarines Sur,” a geographically confused wording (Daet is the capital of Camarines Norte); RVA reports him born in Camarines Sur, and the dossier gives the place only as Camarines Sur. The bulletin names no ordaining bishop.
2.
Key episcopal appointments shape 2025 for Philippine Church — LiCAS News · philippines.licas.news · 2025Capucao ordained and installed September 5, 2025, coinciding with the prelature’s 75th founding anniversary; Leo XIV’s first Philippine appointment. The roundup’s statement that Alarcon’s transfer to Caceres was “in 2019” is not repeated in this dossier.
3.
CBCP Plenary Assembly: Indigenous values challenge inequality, bishop says at Inaugural Mass — Radio Veritas Asia · rvasia.org · 2026Opening Mass, 131st CBCP plenary assembly, Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Cubao; Dumagat/Agta homily and all six plenary quotations. The page is undated.
4.
Pope Leo’s first Filipino appointment is Infanta’s prelate — Radio Veritas Asia · rvasia.org · 2025First Filipino appointment May 16, 2025; born in Camarines Sur on September 25; master’s in intercultural and interreligious theology, Nijmegen, 2002; CESSTREL-ASIA president; Presbyteral Council member; NOSTER and ISERT member; prelature around 373,000 members; Cortez resigned July 2024 at 75. RVA calls him the fourth prelate; the dossier does not repeat the ordinal.
Portrait: Own work with elements from SajoR / Wikimedia Commons
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