Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cáceres
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, Naga City and the Municipality of Gainza. The archdiocese, having been founded in 1595 in Nueva Cáceres, 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 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 Nueva 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.
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 once served as archbishop of the archdiocese.
According to a Holy See Press Office Vatican Information Service 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.Ordinaries
Coadjutor Archbishop
- Teopisto V. Alberto
Auxiliary Bishops
- Juan Antonio Lillo, O.F.M., appointed Bishop here
- Jose Tomas Sanchez, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Lucena
- Concordio M. Sarte, appointed Bishop of Legazpi
- Sofio G. Balce, Jr., appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Cabanatuan
- Jose R. Rojas, Jr., appointed Prelate of Libmanan
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
- Santiago Caragnan Sancho, appointed Bishop of Tuguegarao in 1917
- Flaviano Barrechea Ariola, appointed Bishop of Legazpi in 1952
- Wilfredo Dasco Manlapaz, appointed auxiliary bishop of Maasin in 1980
- Manolo Alarcon de los Santos, appointed Bishop of Virac in 1994
- Adolfo Tito Camacho Yllana, appointed nuncio and titular archbishop in 2001
- Gilbert Armea Garcera, appointed Bishop of Daet in 2007
- Andrew Clement Alarcon, appointed Bishop of Daet in 2019
Curia
- Vicar-General – Rev. Msgr. Rodel M. Cajot, P.C.
- Chancellor – Rev. Fr. Darius S. Romualdo, J.C.D.
- Private Secretary to the Archbishop – Rev. Fr. Gerome N. Pelagio
- Oeconomus – Rev. Fr. Eugene A. Lubigan
- Judicial Vicar – Rev. Fr. Albert S. Orillo, J.C.L.
Suffragan dioceses
- Daet
- Legazpi
- Libmanan
- Masbate
- Sorsogon
- Virac
Seminaries
*
- *Concepcion Pequeña, Naga City 4400
- Holy Rosary Minor Seminary
- *Metropolitan Cathedral Complex
- *Elias Angeles St., Naga City 4400
- Holy Rosary Preparatory Seminary
- *San Jose, Camarines Sur, 4423
