Roman Catholic Diocese of Masbate
Diocese of Masbate Dioecesis Masbatensis Diyosesis san Masbate Diyosesis ng Masbate Diócesis de Masbate | |
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Catholic | |
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![]() Coat of arms | |
Location | |
Country | Philippines |
Territory | Masbate |
Ecclesiastical province | Caceres |
Metropolitan | Caceres |
Coordinates | 12°22′08″N 123°37′08″E / 12.36877°N 123.61887°E |
Statistics | |
Area | 7,000 km2 (2,700 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2021) 983,172 917,532[1] (93.3%) |
Parishes | 35 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | March 23, 1968 (created), September 25, 1968 (canonically erected) |
Cathedral | Saint Anthony of Padua Cathedral |
Patron saint | Anthony of Padua |
Secular priests | 60 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | José S. Bantolo |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Archbishop-Elect Rex Andrew Alarcon |
Vicar General | Eusebio Llonoso |
Map | |
![]() Territorial jurisdiction of the Diocese of Masbate | |
Statistics from Catholic-Hierarchy.org |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Masbate (Latin: Dioecesis Masbatensis) is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The seat of the bishop is the Cathedral Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua along Quezon Street, Masbate City.
The diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Cáceres. Its patron is Saint Anthony of Padua.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Diocese_of_Masbate.svg/220px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_Diocese_of_Masbate.svg.png)
History
[edit]With the other provinces of Bicol, Masbate once belonged to the Archdiocese of Cáceres. When Cáceres was elevated to the status of an archdiocese on June 29, 1951, Masbate became part of the newly erected Diocese of Sorsogon. Pope Paul VI created the Diocese of Masbate on March 23, 1968. It was formally inaugurated on September 25, 1968, with Porfírio Rivera Iligan, a priest from the Archdiocese of Cáceres, as its first bishop.
Ordinaries
[edit]No | Name | In office | Coat of arms |
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1. | Bishop Porfirio R. Iligan | June 17, 1968 – February 14, 1998 | ![]() |
2. | Bishop Joel Z. Baylon | February 14, 1998 – October 1, 2009 appointed Bishop of Legazpi | ![]() |
2. | Bishop José S. Bantolo | June 15, 2011 – present | ![]() |
Vicars-general
[edit]The vicar-general assists the bishop in the administrative duties over the diocese. The offices of the vicar general and the episcopal vicars temporarily ceased upon the vacancy of the episcopal see.
- Anacleto Golimlim (†)
- Arturo Lachica (†)
- Claro Caluya III (1984–2009)
- Ismael Misolas (2009)
- Eusebio Llonoso (2011–present)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Masbate (Catholic Diocese)". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
Resources
[edit]- The 2010–2011 Catholic Directory of the Philippines (published by Claretian Publications for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, 2010)