Archbishop of Lipa
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lipa is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa and the Metropolitan Bishop of the suffragan dioceses of Boac , Gumaca , Lucena and the Prelature of Infanta .
Gilbert Garcera is the incumbent archbishop of Lipa since 2017.[ 1]
History
When the original Diocese of Lipa was created on April 10, 1910, the Bishop of Lipa had authority over a very vast region of a mostly homogenous Tagalog population . The Bishop used to oversee the Roman Catholics in the provinces of Batangas , Laguna , Tayabas (now Quezon, including the present-day Aurora ), Marinduque and Mindoro .[ 2]
In 1936, the first territorial re-organisation of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa was promulgated with the creation of the Apostolic Prelature of Calapan , thus separating the province of Mindoro from the Archdiocese . This was followed by the creation of the Diocese of Lucena and the Prelature of Infanta in 1950.
Another re-organisation happened in 1967 when the province of Laguna was raised to the rank of a diocese under the titular Diocese of San Pablo . The Diocese of Boac in Marinduque was created in 1977 and that of Gumaca in 1984. Both dioceses were part of the Diocese of Lucena before their establishment. In 1983 the new Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro was created.
Today, the Archdiocese of Lipa is for the province of Batangas alone. But the population has multiplied many times over. The archdiocese is divided into 6 vicariates, each headed by a vicar forane. Except for the parishes in Vicariate IV, which are run by the Oblates of St. Joseph, all other parishes are run by the diocesan clergy. There are 49 parishes in all, served by 143 priests; 122 of them diocesan. There are 13 religious brothers, and 197 religious sisters. Catholic schools number 23, high school seminaries 2 and college seminaries 3. Two pastoral centers are being maintained.
Past and Present Prelates of Lipa
No.
Incumbent
Tenure
Notes
From
Until
1
Giuseppe Petrelli †
Apr 12, 1910 Appointed
Mar 30, 1915
Appointed as the first Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lipa ; later appointed as official to the Roman Curia
2
Alfredo Florentin Verzosa †
06 Sept 1916
Feb 25, 1951
Retired from office
3
Alejandro Ayson Olalia †
Dec 28, 1953
Jan 2, 1973
Elevated to the rank of Archbishop when Lipa became an Archdiocese on 20 June 1972; died in office
4
Ricardo Jamin Vidal †
Aug 22, 1973
Apr 13, 1981
Later appointed as the Archbishop of Cebu
5
Mariano Garcés Gaviola †
Apr 13, 1981
Dec 30, 1992
Retired from office
6
Gaudencio Borbon Rosales
Dec 30, 1992
Sept 15, 2003
Later appointed as the Archbishop of Manila
7
Ramon Cabrera Arguelles
May 14, 2004
Feb 2, 2017
Retired from office
8
Gilbert Armea Garcera
Feb 2, 2017
Present
Former Bishop of Daet ; later appointed as the Fifth Archbishop of Lipa and Eighth Local Ordinary
References
Archidioecesis Lipaensis
Territories Ordinaries Cathedral Basilicas Shrines
Parishes
Vicariate of St. Francis Xavier
St. Francis Xavier (Nasugbu, Batangas)
Sto. Domingo de Silos (Calatagan, Batangas)
St. John the Baptist (Lian, Batangas)
St. Vincent Ferrer (Tuy, Batangas)
Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Nasugbu, Batangas)
Vicariate of Immaculate Conception Vicariate of St. Roche
St. Nicholas of Tolentino (San Nicolas, Batangas)
Our Mother of Perpetual Help (Agoncillo, Batangas)
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Agoncillo, Batangas)
St. Roch (Lemery, Batangas)
Mahal na Poon ng Banal na Krus (Lemery, Batangas)
Vicariate of Our Lady of Caysasay
St. Martin of Tours (Taal, Batangas)
San Isidro Labrador (San Luis, Batangas)
Invencion de la Sta. Cruz (Alitagtag, Batangas)
San Isidro Labrador (Cuenca, Batangas)
St. Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face (Sta. Teresita, Batangas)
Vicariate of St. Francis of Paola
St. Francis of Paola (Mabini, Batangas)
St. Roche Parish (Tingloy, Batangas)
Holy Family (Bauan, Batangas)
Vicariate of Holy Cross Vicariate of Sto. Niño Vicariate of St. Michael the Archangel Vicariate of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Vicariate of St. Joseph the Patriarch Vicariate of St. Vincent Ferrer
Sto. Niño Pinatong-ulan (Lipa, Batangas)
Immaculate Conception (Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas)
Divina Pastora (Lipa, Batangas)
St. Vincent Ferrer (Lipa, Batangas)
Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Balete, Batangas)
Vicariate of St. Sebastian
St. Sebastian (Lipa, Batangas)
Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace (Lipa, Batangas)
Sto. Niño Marawoy (Lipa, Batangas)
St. Therese of the Child Jesus (Lipa, Batangas)
St. Isidore (Lipa, Batangas)
St. Joseph the Worker (proposed ; Lipa, Batangas)
Vicariate of St. John the Evangelist
Immaculate Conception (Malvar, Batangas)
Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Tanauan, Batangas)
St. John the Evangelist (Tanauan, Batangas)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Sto. Tomas, Batangas)
St. Clare of Assisi (Sto. Tomas, Batangas)
St. Padre Pio (Sto. Tomas, Batangas)
Vicariate of St. William the Hermit
St. Augustine of Hippo (Tanauan, Batangas)
Queen of All Saints (Tanauan, Batangas)
Holy Family Flight to Egypt (Tanauan, Batangas)
San Guillermo (Talisay, Batangas)
Immaculate Conception (Laurel, Batangas)
Images Suffragan dioceses