Archbishop José Serofia Palma was born on March 19, 1950, in Dingle, in the Archdiocese of Jaro, province of Iloilo, on the Visayan Island of Panay, Philippines.
He studied philosophy at the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Jaro and finished his theological studies at the St. Joseph Regional Seminary in the same locale.
He received his licentiate in Sacred Theology, Magna Cum Laude, at the University of Sto. Tomas Central Seminary and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, also Magna Cum Laude.
On August 21, 1976, he became a priest.
After studying in Rome, Father Palma assumed the role of rector at the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary and later took on the position of rector at the Major Seminary of the Metropolitan Province of Jaro, also recognized as the St. Joseph Regional Seminary, in 1988.
The late Pope, Saint John Paul II, appointed him as the Titular Bishop of Vazari Diddi and Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu on November 28, 1997, and consecrated him on January 13, 1998.
On March 18, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI's vice archbishop, Pedro Dean, appointed Palma as the Archbishop of Palo.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) elected him as Vice President on December 1, 2009.
He succeeded Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal on October 15, 2010, becoming the fourth Archbishop of Cebu, and he was installed on January 13, 2011.
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