Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Manila Article Index for
Roman Catholic
Website Links For
Roman Catholic
 

Information About

Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Manila




The original Diocese of Manila was canonically erected on February 6 , 1579 encompassing all of the Spanish Colonies in Asia . It was a suffragan of Mexico . The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese on August 14 , 1595 . Over the course of Philippines history and the growth of Catholicism in the region, the Archdiocese of Manila carved new dioceses from its territory.

On August 14,1595, Pope and the ten civil provinces near it. Rizal , Bulacan , Pampanga , Nueva Ecija , Batangas , Laguna , Cavite , Bataan , Zambales , and Mindoro .

On April 10, 1910, the province of Mindoro was established as an independent diocese by virtue of a ''Decretum Consistoriale'' executed by Pope Pius XI implementing the Bull “''Quae Mari Sinico''” of Pope Leo XIII . Eighteen years later, on May 19, 1928, Pope Pius XI established the Diocese of Lingayen, diving Manila and Nueva Segovia. In this division 26 parishes were separated from Manila.

On December 11, 1948, the Apostolic Constitution, “''Probe noscitur''” further divided the Archdiocese of Manila by separating the northern part of the Archdiocese and establishing it as the Diocese of San Fernando.

On November 25, 1961, the Archdiocese of Manila was again divided. The civil provinces of Bulacan in the north and Cavite in the south were separated from the archdiocese. Bulacan became the Diocese of Malolos and Cavite became the Diocese of Imus .

The Eastern part of the province of Rizal was removed from the Archdiocese of Manila on January 24, 1983. Fifteen towns and two barangays were separated from Manila to form the diocese of Antipolo .

In 2002, two more dioceses were carved out of the Archdiocese of Manila. These are the Diocese of Novaliches in the north and the Diocese of Paranaque in the south also comprising the cities of Las Pinas and Muntinlupa.

In 2003, by the recommendation of the late , Kalookan and Pasig .


TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION


The Archdiocese of Manila is presently made up of seven (7) cities, namely, Manila , Makati , Pasay , Mandaluyong , Pasig (excluding Santolan and Rosario District), Quezon City (excluding Northern part from Tandang Sora Avenue and Mactan), Kalookan and five (5) municipalities, namely, San Juan , Taguig , Pateros , Malabon and Navotas . It covers a land area of 315.26 Square Kilometers . It is bounded by the Diocese of Malolos ( Bulacan ) in the north; Diocese of Antipolo ( Rizal ) in the east; Diocese of Imus ( Cavite ) and San Pablo ( Laguna ) in the south; and the Manila Bay in the west.


ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA

The Archbishop of Manila's See is located in the Manila Cathedral , under the patronage of the Our Lady Of Immaculate Conception . The Archbishop of Manila is also the Metropolitan Bishop of several suffragan archdioceses and dioceses.

After having been served by a single residential bishop, 19 Archbishops of Manila appointed from Spain served the archdiocese. In 1903 , the Archdiocese of Manila received its first archbishop from the United States as appointed by the Vatican . Following the leadership of Archbishop Jeremiah James Harty from St. Louis, Missouri , an Irishman was appointed in succession. On September 6 , 1916 , Michael J. O'Doherty was received by the Filipinos.

Archbishop O'Doherty would lead the Roman Catholic Church of the Philippines in its most difficult times. Filipinos had seen years of petitioning for independence from the United States and then the Japanese attacked Manila on December 8 , 1941 . The Philippines would become subject to the brutality of Japanese soldiers during World War II through 1945 . Finally, the Philippines gained its independence with Archbishop O'Doherty leading the nation through spiritual thanksgiving.

When Archbishop O'Doherty died, the Vatican chose the first Filipino to become Archbishop of Manila. Fr. Gabriel Reyes was already serving as Coadjutor Archbishop of Manila before being raised to the position. His successor, Archbishop Rufino Jiao Santos (later Rufino Cardinal Santos ), became the first Filipino to become a Cardinal in Consistory .

Archbishop Jaime Lachica Sin became the most recognized Archbishop of Manila worldwide when he challenged the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. Becoming only the third Filipino cardinal created in consistory, Archbishop Sin was credited as one of the architects of the People Power movement that forced the dictator into exile.

Currently, the Archbishop of Manila is Gaudencio Borbon Rosales . He is currently assisted by an auxiliary bishop and an auxiliary bishop ''emeritus''.


ORDINARIES



ASSETS

The archdiocese is considered to be one of the richest archdioceses in the world, and the richest in the Philippines. It has a considerable number of real estate holdings located in Metro Manila and financial interests in some institutions, even after the division of its territories in the past few years. For one, the archdiocese owns 8.5% of Bank Of The Philippine Islands , Philippine's second largest bank. The archdiocese also owns schools, hostels, charitable institutions and a travel agency.


STATISTICS

As of 2004, the Archdiocese of Manila has registered a total of 2,719,781 baptized Catholics. The faithful are served by the archdiocese's 475 diocesan and religious priests - with a ratio of 5,725 Catholics per priests, under 85 parishes. The archdiocese also houses 369 male religious and 1,730 female religious engaged in various social, pastoral and missionary works in various areas of the archdiocese.


FORMATION OF PRIESTS

The archdiocese operates San Carlos Seminary, which is responsible for the formation of future priests for the archdiocese and for its suffragan dioceses. Located in a sprawling complex in Makati City, it has collegiate- and theologate-level formation houses as well as formation houses for Filipino-Chinese future priests and a center for adult vocations. The seminary offers civil and ecclesiastical degrees in Philosophy , Theology and Pastoral Ministry .

The archdiocese also operates Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary, a seminary for young men in the secondary school level. It is located a few blocks away from San Carlos Seminary.

Other major seminaries that serve the spiritual and pastoral needs of the archdiocese include the San Jose Seminary (under the administration of the Jesuits , located within the Ateneo De Manila University complex) and the UST Major Seminary (under the administration of the Order Of Preachers , located within the University Of Santo Tomas campus).


APOSTOLIC NUNCIATURE


The official residence of the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines is located within the archdiocese, although the nuncio is not subject to the authority of the archbishop. The present papal nuncio is Archbishop Antonio Franco, who is also the concurrent Dean Of The Diplomatic Corps in the Philippines. In January 21, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI announced that he has appointed Archbishop Franco as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus .


RESOURCES