Parishioners fronting the early church facadé in the late 19th-century
The cathedral interior in 2023 featuring its ceiling made of narra
Dipolog was formerly a barrio of Dapitan.[2] In April 1894, the construction of the church of Dipolog was begun while the first Mass within the completed church was held in June 1894.[3] The parish of Dipolog was founded on June 30, 1896[1][3] with Fr. Esteban Yepes, a Jesuit, serving as its first parish priest.[4] The first church altar of Dipolog was designed by José Rizal while he was exiled in Dapitan.[2][5] The features of the church are its woodenceiling, wooden bas relief of the Four Evangelists, massive adobe stone walls, and reredoses, among others.[4] In 1913, Dipolog formally became a separate town from Dapitan.[2] The church became a cathedral when the Diocese of Dipolog was canonically founded in 1967.[1] Reforms brought by the Second Vatican Council changed the church's reredos into a simple one with vertical design and a central bell tower being added to the façade. In 1986, the nave's main columns were removed under the helm of Msgr. Salvador Mora. As part of centennial anniversary of Dipolog's parish foundation in 1996, the cathedral's main reredos was restored with carved marble under Msgr. Esteban Gaudicos. Bishop Jose Manguiran, Dipolog's second bishop, led the cathedral interior renovation in 2007, the original walls restoration in 2008, and the 2009 renovation of the façade. Then Manila cardinal-archbishopGaudencio Rosales led the blessing of the renovated façade in May 2009.[4]