Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cáceres

Coordinates: 13°37′41″N 123°11′13″E / 13.6280°N 123.1870°E / 13.6280; 123.1870
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Archdiocese of Cáceres

Archidioecesis Cacerensis

Arckidiocesis kan Cáceres
Arkidiyosesis ng Cáceres
Arquidiócesis de Cáceres
Catholic
Coat of arms
Location
Country Philippines
Territory3rd, 4th and 5th Congressional Districts of Camarines Sur, Naga City, Iriga City and the Municipality of Gainza
Ecclesiastical provinceCáceres
MetropolitanCaceres
HeadquartersArchbishop's Residence, Elias Angeles St., Pilgrim City of Naga
Statistics
Area3,207 km2 (1,238 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2021)
1,950,250
1,742,065[1] (89.3%)
Parishes92
Churches110
Congregations39
Schools12
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedAugust 14, 1595; 428 years ago (1595-08-14) (diocese)
June 29, 1951; 72 years ago (1951-06-29) (archdiocese)
CathedralMetropolitan Cathedral and Parish of Saint John the Evangelist
Titular patronsOur Lady of Peñafrancia
John the Evangelist
Pedro Bautista
Secular priests193[2]
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Metropolitan ArchbishopRex Andrew Clement Alarcon
SuffragansSede Vacante (Daet)
Joel Z. Baylon (Legazpi)
José R. Rojas (Libmanan)
José S. Bantolo (Masbate)
Jose Alan V. Dialogo (Sorsogon)
Luisito A. Occiano (Virac)
Vicar GeneralJoseph Wilfred V. Almoneda
Map
Jurisdiction of the metropolitan see within the Philippines.
Jurisdiction of the metropolitan see within the Philippines.
Website
Archdiocese of Cáceres

The Archdiocese of Cáceres is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.[3][4] It is a metropolitan see that comprises the Bicol Region, while directly overseeing the third, fourth, and fifth congressional districts of Camarines Sur, Naga City, Iriga City and the Municipality of Gainza. The archdiocese, having been founded in 1595 in Nueva Cáceres (now Naga City), is also considered one of the oldest dioceses in the Philippines with Cebu, Segovia and Manila, and once had jurisdiction that stretched from Samar in the south and Isabela Province in the north. The seat of the archdiocese is currently located in Naga City, also known as the Queen City of Bicol.

The Archdiocese of Caceres is also home to Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of the Bicol Region, and is considered to be one of the largest Marian Pilgrimages in Asia.

History

The Diocese of Cáceres was established as the suffragan of Manila on August 14, 1595.[5] This was by virtue of the Papal Bull Super specula militantis ecclesiae issued by Pope Clement VIII. The diocese extended over the provinces of Camarines and Albay as far as and including the islands of Ticao, Masbate, Burias and Catanduanes; the province of Tayabas as far as and including Lucban; and, in the contracosta of Mauban to Binangonan, Polo, Baler and Casiguran. The official name given to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction is Ecclesia Cacerensis in Indiis Orientalius. The name was taken from Nueva Cáceres (now Naga City), also indicated as the seat of the diocese. Friar Luís de Maldonado, OFM was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Cáceres. It was elevated to the status of archdiocese on June 29, 1951 through the virtue of the papal bull Quo in Philippine Republica by Pope Pius XII. The papal bull also created its two suffragan sees—the Diocese of Legazpi and Sorsogon.[citation needed]

Leonardo Legaspi OP, who was also the first Filipino Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, and the first Vicar of the Dominican Province of the Philippines once served as archbishop of the archdiocese.[citation needed]

According to a Holy See Press Office Vatican Information Service (VIS) online news release on Saturday, September 8, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Bishop Prelate of the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Infanta Rolando J. Tria Tirona, OCD, as Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cáceres to succeed the retiring Archbishop Legaspi.[6]

Coat of arms

A pallium divides the shield into three fields. The rose and the blue background represent Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the patroness of the Bicol region.

The silver eagle against the gold background represents Saint John the apostle and evangelist, the titular of the cathedral at Naga. The open book represents the Gospel. The thunderbolt alludes to the nickname "Boanerges" given by Jesus to Saint John and his brother James, meaning "sons of thunder".

The three mountains represent Mounts Mayon, Isarog, and Bulusan. Above the mountains are the insignia of the Franciscan Order and below the mountains is a green palm branch that alludes to Saint Pedro Bautista, martyred in Japan, with others, among on February 5, 1597, who was erroneously considered first bishop-elect for the see of Nueva Caceres at the time of his martyrdom and hence is venerated as the secondary patron of the cathedral.[7]

Ordinaries

Bishops of Cáceres

Name From Until
Luis Maldonado (bishop), OFM 1595 1596
Francisco Ortega (bishop), OSA 13 Sep 1599 1602 — died
Baltazar de Cobarrubias y Múñoz, OSA 1603 6 June 1605 — appointed, Bishop of Antequera, Oaxaca, México
Pedro de Godinez, OFM 12 Dec 1605 1611 — died
Pedro Matías (bishop) 17 Sep 1612 1615 — died
Diego Guevara, OSA 3 Aug 1616 1623 — died
Luis de Cañizares, OM 1 Jul 1624 19 Jun 1628 — appointed, Coadjutor Bishop of Comayagua, Honduras
Francisco de Zamudio y Avendaño, OSA 10 Jul 1628 1639 — died
Nicolás de Zaldívar y Zapata 2 May 1644 1646 — died
Antonio de San Gregorio, OFM 17 Nov 1659 1661 — died
Andrés González, OP 10 Sep 1685 14 Feb 1709 — died
Domingo de Valencia 10 Jan 1718 21 Jun 1719 — died
Felipe Molina y Figueroa 20 Nov 1724 1 May 1738
Isidro de Arevalo 29 Aug 1740 1751 — died
Manuel de Matos, OFM 11 Feb 1754 24 Feb 1767 — died
Antonio de Luna, OFM 19 Dec 1768 16 Apr 1773 — died
Juan Antonio Gallego y Orbigo, OFM 14 Dec 1778 15 Dec 1788 — appointed, Archbishop of Manila
Juan García Ruiz, OSA 26 Jun 1784 2 May 1796 — died
Domingo Collantes, OP 15 Dec 1788 23 Jul 1808 — died
Bernardo de la Inmaculada Concepción García Hernández (Fernandez Perdigon), OFM 23 Sep 1816 9 Oct 1829 — died
Juan Antonio Lillo, OFM 28 Feb 1831 3 Dec 1840 — died
Vicente Barreiro y Pérez, OSA 19 Jan 1846 — appointed 14 Apr 1848 — appointed, Bishop of Nueva Segovia
Manuel Grijalvo y Mínguez 14 Apr 1848 13 Nov 1861 — died
Francisco Gaínza y Escobás, OP 5 Mar 1862[8][9] 31 Jul 1879[8]died
Casimiro Herrero y Pérez, OSA 1 Oct 1880 12 Nov 1886 — died
Arsenio del Campo y Monasterio, OSA 25 Nov 1887 20 Jul 1903 — resigned
Jorge Barlin y Imperial 14 Dec 1905 4 Sep 1909 — died
John Bernard MacGinley 2 Apr 1910 24 Mar 1924 — appointed, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, California, U.S.
Francisco Sales Reyes y Alicante 20 Jun 1925 15 Dec 1937 — died
Pedro Paulo Songco Santos 21 May 1938 29 Jun 1951 — elevated Archbishop of Caceres

Archbishops of Cáceres

No. Name From Until Coat of Arms
1 Pedro Paulo Songco Santos June 29, 1951 06 April 1965
(died in office)
2 Teopisto Valderrama Alberto April 6, 1965 20 October 1983
(resigned)
3 Leonardo Zamora Legaspi October 20, 1983 08 September 2012
(retired)
4 Rolando Joven Tria Tirona September 8, 2012 22 February 2024
(retired)
5 Rex Andrew Clement Alarcon February 22, 2024[10] present

Coadjutor Archbishop

  • Teopisto V. Alberto (1959-1965)

Auxiliary Bishops

  • Juan Antonio Lillo, OFM (1828-1831), appointed Bishop here
  • Jose Tomas Sanchez (1968-1971), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Lucena
  • Concordio M. Sarte (1973-1977), appointed Bishop of Legazpi
  • Sofio G. Balce Jr. (1980-1988), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Cabanatuan
  • Jose R. Rojas Jr. (2005-2008), appointed Prelate of Libmanan

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Curia

  • Vicar-General – Rev. Fr. Joseph Wilfred V. Almoneda
  • Chancellor – Rev. Fr. Darius S. Romualdo, J.C.D.
  • Private Secretary to the Archbishop – Rev. Fr. Gerome N. Pelagio
  • Oeconomus – Rev. Fr. Eugene A. Lubigan
  • Judicial Vicar – Rev. Fr. Jhun Oliva

Suffragan dioceses

Territorial jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Province of Caceres.
Territorial jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Province of Caceres.
  • Daet (comprises the entire province of Camarines Norte)
  • Legazpi (comprises the entire province of Albay)
  • Libmanan (comprises the 1st and 2nd Districts of Camarines Sur)
  • Masbate (comprises the entire province of Masbate)
  • Sorsogon (comprises the entire province of Sorsogon)
  • Virac (comprises the entire province of Catanduanes)

Seminaries

See also

References

  1. ^ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Caceres". GCatholic.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023. catholics=1,742,065
  2. ^ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Caceres". GCatholic.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023. priests:193
  3. ^ "Archdiocese of Cáceres (Nueva Cáceres)" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  4. ^ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cáceres" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  5. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Nueva Cáceres" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  6. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 08.09.2012". press.catholica.va. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Madriaga, Mariano (1957). "The Coats-of-Arms of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions in the Philippines: Part I. The Metropolitan Sees". Philippine Studies. 5 (2): 177–190. JSTOR 42720389. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Abella, Domingo (1954). Bikol Annals: A Collection of Vignettes of Philippine History, Volume I - The See of Nueva Cáceres (First ed.). pp. 164, 181. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Romanillos, Emmanuel Luis (December 2016). Barrot, Leander (ed.). "Fr. Pedro Pelaez's Unpublished Letters" (PDF). Quærens. 11 (2). Quezon City, Philippines: Recoletos School of Theology, Inc.: 68. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Legarde, Roy (February 22, 2024). "Pope Francis names new Caceres archbishop". CBCP News. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  11. ^ Legarde, Roy (February 29, 2024). "Pope names CamSur priest as new Virac bishop". CBCP News. Retrieved February 29, 2024.

External links


13°37′41″N 123°11′13″E / 13.6280°N 123.1870°E / 13.6280; 123.1870