Ecclesiastical province Caceres Sui iuris church Latin Church Area 3,207 km² Country Philippines | Denomination Roman Catholic Rite Roman Rite Phone +63 54 473 8483 Cathedral Naga Cathedral | |
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Territory Municipality of Gainza and the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Congressional District of Camarines Sur Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2012)
1,339,000
1,096,000 (79.8%) Address Elias Angeles St, Bagumbayan Sur, Naga, 4400 Camarines Sur, Philippines Similar Our Lady Of Peñafran, Our Lady of Peñafran Parish, SHRINE and PARISH, Parish of San Francisco, UNIVERS DE STA ISABEL Profiles | ||
The Archdiocese of Cáceres is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. It is a Metropolitan See that comprises the Bicol region, while directly overseeing the third, fourth, and fifth congressional districts of Camarines Sur. The Archdiocese, having been founded in 1595 in Nueva Cáceres (now Naga City), is also considered as 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 is also home to the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of Bicol, 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. This was by virtue of the Papal Bull “Super specula militantis ecclesiae” issued by 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 “Ciudad de Cáceres,” 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.
The Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi O.P., 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.
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, O.C.D., as Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cáceres, to succeed the retiring Archbishop Legaspi.