Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo

History

The province of Leyte to which the Archdiocese of Palo belongs was the scene of the first Mass in the Philippines celebrated by Fr. Pedro de Valderrama on March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday. The exact spot is the small island Limasawa on the southernmost tip of Leyte Island. However, formal work of evangelization did not start until 74 years later when the Jesuits arrived in Kangara or Carigara, led by Fr. Pedro Chirino, S.J. with four priests and one brother companion on 16 July 1595. At that time there were settlements connected with each other by dirt roads. The missionaries had to work for the formation of the towns since the people were spread out over the lowlands and into the mountains. The population of about 70,000 came under the general control of local officials called encomenderos assigned to collect the tribute from the people. A constant difficulty the missionaries encountered in their efforts of spreading the Faith was the greediness of the tribute collectors and the carrying out of the Moro raids. These raids usually came during the monsoon season. The object of the raids was to capture slaves, to inflict physical damage to the towns and countryside, and to carry away any crop or booty. The captured slaves were to be later sold in Malaya, Macassar, or Java. The first major raid on record was made on October 28, 1603, composed of seventy ships and two thousand men. Palo and Dulag were burned, and captives were taken. A raid in 1613 resulted in the capture of four hundred people in Dulag alone. Another raid in 1634 brought heavy damage to Cabalian, Sogod, Baybay, and Ormoc. Members of the clergy were at times among the captives, some of whom were killed. The first missions were Carigara (1595), Dulag (1595), Palo (1596), Alangalang (1597), and Ormoc (1597). Early structures were made of light materials, but eventually they were replaced by stone structures, e.g. Tanauan (1714) and Abuyog (1718). Baptisms were preceded by a period of training in the Christian way of life. This period of training would often last for several months. In the Palo missions a small catechetical text was printed in the Visayan by Fr. Cristobal Himenes, as an aid in the preparation of candidates for baptism. By 1600 there were an estimated 6,000 people in the Palo Community, 1,000 of whom had been baptized. The same ratio was found in the twenty-five villages where the missionaries had chapels; there were 4,946 Christians in the total population of 24,500. By 1768 most residents of Leyte had been baptized. There were twenty established parishes in that year. Four of the parishes were in the North: Carigara, Barugo, Alangalang, Jaro. Eight of the parishes were in the west and south: Palompon, Ormoc, Baybay, Hilongos, Maasin, Sogod, Cabalian, and Hinunangan. Another eight parishes were in the east: Palo, Tanauan, Dulag, Abuyog, Dagami, Burauen, and, across the gulf in Samar Island), Basey and Balangiga. A hospital and boarding school were built in Dulag, while Carigara conducted a day school.

In 1768 the Jesuits were ordered to leave the Philippines, due to circumstances in Europe. They were replaced in Leyte by the Augustinians, who in 1834 ceded the parishes, the northeastern part to the Franciscans while the diocesan clergy of Cebu took over the parishes in the west and the south. In 1898 the Franciscans, as Spanish citizens, had to leave the country, and the diocesan clergy took over. Leyte had belonged to the Diocese of Cebu until 1910 and then belonged to the Diocese of Calbayog until 1937. On November 28, 1937 the Island of Leyte was canonically erected as a diocese in its own right, with the seat in Palo. On March 23, 1968, Palo was divided into two dioceses, the other diocese based in Maasin with Rev. Vicente T. Ataviado, D.D. as its first Ordinary. The diocese of Maasin comprises the whole province of Southern Leyte including six municipalities southwest of Leyte. In 1988 the diocese was again divided with the creation of the Diocese of Naval, comprising the island north of Leyte called Biliran and four towns northeast of the province of Leyte facing the island of Biliran. The Diocese of Palo was elevated to an Archdiocese on November 15, 1982. It was canonically erected as an Archdiocese on February 14, 1983. It comprises the whole island of Leyte except 10 municipalities. It has four suffragan dioceses: Calbayog, Borongan, Catarman, and Naval. Its titular patron is the Transfiguration of Our Lord.

Archbishop of Palo

John Forrosuelo Du was installed as Archbishop of Palo on May 9, 2012 by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, at the Metropolitan Cathedral, Palo, Leyte.

Du was born in Bantayan, Cebu City, on October 18, 1954. He completed his High School studies and attended a special course at Pope John XXIII Seminary. From 1971 to 1975 he studied philosophy at San Carlos Junior College of Cebu, and then theology in St. Augustine Major Seminary, under the SVD Fathers in Tagaytay City. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Cebu on June 1, 1979. After his priestly ordination he was assigned as Assistant Pastor for three years. In 1982 he was appointed Professor at the Minor Seminary of Cebu, becoming later its Procurator and Rector. He became the spiritual director of the Missionaries of Charity in Cebu and a member of the Committee of the ongoing formation of the clergy of the Archdiocese.

He was elected titular bishop of Timici and auxiliary bishop of Cebu on November 21, 1997, and was consecrated on January 6, 1998. On April 21, 2001 he was transferred to the Diocese of Dumaguete. He was appointed Treasurer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and Chairman of the CBCP Pension Plan.

The diocese has 1.2 million Roman Catholicresidents, 63 parishes, 1 Chaplaincy and 13 Mission Stations, divided into two districts: the Eastern District (the waray speaking, comprising the vicariates of Tacloban, Carigara, Burauen, Chancery seminary, Abuyog and Palo), and the Western District (Cebuano speaking people which consist of the vicariates of Ormoc and Palompon)

Seminaries

Vicariate of Palo

Vicariate of Tacloban City

Vicariate of Burauen

Vicariate of Abuyog

Vicariate of Carigara

Vicariate of Ormoc City

Vicariate of Palompon

Suffragan dioceses

Borongan, Calbayog, Catarman, Naval