Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cáceres

For the diocese in Spain, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Coria-Cáceres.
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cáceres

Archidioecesis Metropolitae Cacerensis

Arkidiosesis Metropolitano kan Cáceres
Kalakhang Arkidiyosesis ng Cáceres
Arquidiócesis Metropolitano de Cáceres
Catholic
Naga Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country Philippines
TerritoryCamarines Sur (except Del Gallego, Libmanan, Lupi, Milaor, Minalabac, Pamplona, Pasacao, Ragay, San Fernando and Sipocot)
Ecclesiastical provinceCáceres
MetropolitanCáceres
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; 429 years ago (1595-08-14) (diocese)
June 29, 1951; 73 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
Bishops emeritusRolando Joven Tria Tirona
Map
Jurisdiction of the metropolitan see within the Philippines.
Jurisdiction of the metropolitan see within the Philippines.
Website
Archdiocese of Cáceres

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nueva 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 Nueva 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.

Luís de Maldonado 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, 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 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 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 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 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[note 1] Until
Luis Maldonado, O.F.M. August 30, 1595 1596
Francisco Ortega, O.S.A. September 13, 1599 1602 — died
Baltazar de Cobarrubias y Múñoz, O.S.A. January 13, 1603 June 6, 1605 — appointed, Bishop of Antequera, Oaxaca, México
Pedro de Godinez, O.F.M. December 12, 1605 1611 — died
Pedro Matía, O.F.M. September 17, 1612 1615 — died
Diego Guevara, O.S.A. August 3, 1616 1623 — died
Luis de Cañizares, O.M. July 1, 1624 June 19, 1628 — appointed, Coadjutor Bishop of Comayagua, Honduras
Francisco de Zamudio y Avendaño, O.S.A. July 10, 1628 1639 — died
Nicolás de Zaldívar y Zapata, O.S.A. May 2, 1644 1646 — died
Antonio de San Gregorio, O.F.M. November 17, 1659 1661 — died
Andrés González, O.P. September 10, 1685 February 14, 1709 — died
Domingo de Valencia January 10, 1718 June 21, 1719 — died
Felipe Molina y Figueroa November 20, 1724 May 1, 1738
Isidro de Arevalo August 29, 1740 1751 — died
Manuel de Matos, O.F.M. February 11, 1754 February 24, 1767 — died
Antonio de Luna, O.F.M. December 19, 1768 April 16, 1773 — died
Andrés de Echeandía, O. de M.[8] September 11, 1775
Francisco de Maceira, O.F.M.[8] December 15, 1777
Juan Antonio Gallego y Orbigo, O.F.M. December 14, 1778 December 15, 1788 — appointed, Archbishop of Manila
Domingo Collantes, O.P. December 15, 1788 July 23, 1808 — died
Bernardo de la Inmaculada Concepción García Hernández , O.F.M. (Fernandez Perdigon) September 23, 1816 October 9, 1829 — died
Juan Antonio Lillo, O.F.M. February 28, 1831 December 3 1840 — died
Vicente Barreiro y Pérez, O.S.A. January 19, 1846 — appointed April 14, 1848 — appointed, Bishop of Nueva Segovia
Manuel Grijalvo y Mínguez, O.S.A. April 14, 1848 November 13, 1861 — died
Francisco Gaínza y Escobás, O.P. March 5, 1862[9][10] July 31, 1879[9] — died
Casimiro Herrero y Pérez, O.S.A. October 1, 1880 November 12, 1886 — died
Arsenio del Campo y Monasterio, O.S.A. November 25, 1887 July 20, 1903 — resigned
Jorge Barlin y Imperial December 14, 1905 September 4, 1909 — died
John Bernard MacGinley April 2, 1910 March 24, 1924 — appointed, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, California, U.S.
Francisco Sales Reyes y Alicante June 20, 1925 December 15, 1937 — died
Pedro Paulo Songco Santos May 21, 1938 June 29, 1951 — elevated Archbishop of Caceres

Metropolitan Archbishops of Cáceres

No. Name From[note 2] Until Coat of Arms
1 Pedro Paulo Songco Santos June 29, 1951 April 6, 1965
(died in office)
2 Teopisto Valderrama Alberto April 6, 1965
(succeeded) 		October 20, 1983
(resigned)
3 Leonardo Zamora Legaspi January 18, 1984 November 14, 2012
(retired)
4 Rolando Joven Tria Tirona November 14, 2012 May 2, 2024
(retired)
5 Rex Andrew Clement Alarcon May 2, 2024[11] present

Coadjutor Archbishop

  • Teopisto V. Alberto (1959-1965)

Auxiliary bishops

  • Juan Antonio Lillo (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 – Joseph Wilfred V. Almoneda
  • Chancellor – Darius S. Romualdo
  • Private Secretary to the Archbishop – Gerome N. Pelagio
  • Oeconomus – Eugene A. Lubigan
  • Judicial Vicar – 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

  • Holy Rosary Major Seminary
  • Holy Rosary Minor Seminary
    • Metropolitan Cathedral Complex
    • Elias Angeles St., Naga City 4400
  • Holy Rosary Preparatory Seminary

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Denoting the date of the bishop's appointment.
  2. ^ Denoting the date of the archbishop's canonical installation.

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 (1963). "The Bishops of Cáceres and Jaro". Philippine Studies. 11 (4): 548–556. ISSN 0031-7837.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Lagarde, Roy (February 22, 2024). "Pope Francis names new Caceres archbishop". CBCP News. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Legarde, Roy (February 29, 2024). "Pope names CamSur priest as new Virac bishop". CBCP News. Retrieved February 29, 2024.


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