The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig ( lat, Dioecesis Pasiginae; fil, Diyosesis ng Pasig) is the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Latin rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

that comprises the cities of

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the ...

and

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

, and the municipality of

Pateros Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros ( tgl, Bayan ng Pateros), is the lone municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,643 people. This municipality is famous for its duck-rai ...

, in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

. It was established by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on June 28, 2003, by virtue of the papal bull ''Dei Caritas''. It was formally and canonically erected on August 21, 2003, with the installation of Francisco C. San Diego as its first bishop. The Immaculate Conception Cathedral-Parish, located in the central vicinity of Pasig, was made the cathedral or the seat of the diocese.

Historical background

Prior to the establishment as a local church, the present-day Diocese of Pasig used to be a part of the

Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

(largely under the Ecclesiastical District of Makati). The Vicariate of Santo Tomas de Villanueva was then under the

Diocese of Antipolo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo (Lat: ''Dioecesis Antipolensis''; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Diyosesis ng Antipolo'') is a diocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the Rizal, Pro ...

. The oldest parishes, built during the Spanish colonialization period, were in Pasig (Immaculate Conception), Pateros (San Roque), and Taguig (Saint Anne). In 1953, the community of Santolan, Pasig was granted a parish of their own, Santo Tomas de Villanueva Parish, which was followed by the establishment of new parishes in Rosario and Bicutan (1963), Tipas and Bagong Ilog (1969), and Barrio Capitolyo (1976). The northeastern side of Pasig, which comprises the barangays of Manggahan, Santolan, De La Paz, Santa Lucia, and Rosario, was given to the newly established

in 1983. Between 1985 and 1995, six chapels of the Immaculate Conception Parish were elevated as independent parishes. Parishes belonging to the Vicariate of the Immaculate Conception and to the municipalities of Taguig and Pateros were part of the Ecclesiastical District of Makati, which was then headed by Manila Auxiliary Bishop

Crisostomo Yalung Crisostomo Ayson Yalung (born December 3, 1953) is a former Roman Catholic bishop from the Philippines. He was the second Bishop of Antipolo, serving from December 3, 2001, to October 19, 2002. Born in Angeles City, Pampanga, Yalung studied ph ...

. In October 2001, these parishes were carved out to form the new Ecclesiastical District of Pasig, with Nestor Cariño, then Secretary-General of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...

(now bishop-emeritus of Legazpi), as its first district bishop. Between the years 2000 and 2003, in preparation for the erection of the new diocese, some juridical changes to the district took place. Barangays San Antonio and Oranbo, which formerly belonged to Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

, were turned over to Holy Family Parish. The military chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption in Fort Bonifacio was turned over by the Military Ordinariate to the Archdiocese of Manila in 2000 and was renamed Saint Michael Chaplaincy. Saint Joseph Chapel in Upper Bicutan, Taguig, which belonged to San Martin de Porres Parish in Parañaque City, became an independent parish under the District of Pasig in 2002. On June 28, 2003, few months after carving out the dioceses of Paranaque and

Novaliches Novaliches is a place that forms the northern areas of Quezon City, and encompasses the whole area of North Caloocan. Etymology The name Novaliches came from the name of the small village of Novaliches in the town of Jérica, Spain. It was ...

from the Archdiocese of Manila, Pope John Paul II decreed the erection of three more new dioceses in response to the surging pastoral needs of the faithful of the archdiocese. With the promulgation of the papal bull ''Dei Caritas'', the Pope officially established the new Diocese of Pasig and appointed

Francisco Capiral San Diego Francisco Capiral San Diego (October 10, 1935 – August 26, 2015) was the Bishop-Emeritus of the Diocese of Pasig, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Manila in the Metro Manila region of the Philippines. Biography Francisco Capiral San Diego ...

, then bishop of

San Pablo, Laguna San Pablo, officially the City of San Pablo ( fil, Lungsod ng San Pablo), is a 1st class component city A city ( fil, lungsod/siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities ( ...

, as its first bishop. The Vicariate of Santo Tomas de Villanueva was separated from the Diocese of Antipolo to be included in the new diocese. The diocese was canonically erected on August 21, 2003, with the installation of Bishop

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Franco, Manila Archbishop Cardinal

Jaime Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...

, and the bishops gracing the occasion. Bishop San Diego named the district's episcopal vicar, Rodolfo Gallardo, as the first

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

, Roy Rosales as the first

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, Pedro Enrique Rabonza IV as judicial vicar, Amando Litana as

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of Catholic schools, and Manuel Gabriel as the diocesan pastoral director. In December 2003, Msgr. Gallardo was installed second

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral-Parish. After he retired as vicar-general and cathedral rector in February 2005, he was succeeded by Bishop San Diego as acting parish priest and rector. The bishop named Ramil Marcos, his private secretary and vice-chancellor, as the second

of the diocese and Roy Rosales as the fourth rector of the cathedral. In 2006, he appointed Orlando Cantillon as the new vicar general. During his term, Bishop San Diego worked for the improvement of the Catholic cemetery and the construction of the bishop's residence and diocesan offices within the vicinity of the cathedral. He started a retirement plan fund for the clergy and summoned a general pastoral assembly for lay leaders in the diocese. Due to the shortage of parish priests, he entrusted a number of parishes to guest priests as priests-in-charge or administrators. His term was marked by the papal canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Pasig in the cathedral on December 7, 2008, the solemn declaration of San Roque Parish in Pateros as the ''Diocesan Shrine of Santa Marta'' on February 7, 2009, and the establishment of Tanyag Chapel, which belonged to Sagrada Familia Parish, as a quasi-parish (Our Mother of Perpetual Help Quasi-Parish) on September 8, 2010. On December 21, 2010, Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

accepted San Diego's retirement as bishop and named Manila Archbishop Cardinal

Gaudencio Rosales Gaudencio Borbón Rosales (born August 10, 1932) is a Roman Catholic Cardinal who was Archbishop of Manila, succeeding Jaime Sin in 2003, and succeeded by Luis Antonio Tagle in 2011. Being the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Ma ...

as concurrent

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the diocese. On April 20, 2011, the Pope appointed Mylo Hubert Claudio Vergara, bishop of

San Jose, Nueva Ecija ) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Founded , established_date = March 19, 1894 , established_title1 = Cityhood , established_date1 = August 4, 1969 , parts_type ...

, as the new, second bishop of Pasig. During his term, Bishop Vergara strengthened the lay evangelization programs in the diocese, invited some religious orders to administer a number of parishes in the diocese, and oversaw the inauguration of the ''Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol'' (House of Good Shepherd) Building within the vicinity of Santa Clara de Montefalco Parish to house the new bishop's residence and diocesan offices on April 24, 2017. On September 15, 2012, he established San Vicente Ferrer Quasi-Parish in Palar Village, Barangay Pinagsama, C-5, Taguig City and later elevated Our Mother of Perpetual Help Quasi-Parish in Bagong Tanyag (2015), St. Michael the Archangel Chaplaincy in Fort Bonifacio (2017), and St. Vincent Ferrer Quasi-Parish in Palar (2018) to full-fledged parochial status.

Clergy

Bishop of Pasig

Vicar-General

The vicar-general assists the bishop in the administrative duties over the diocese. Since the time of Ramil Marcos, the vicar-general serves also as adviser for the diocesan seminarians. *(Lt. Col.) Msgr. Rodolfo A. Gallardo (2003 to 2005) *Fr. Ramil R. Marcos (2005 to 2006) *Fr. Orlando B. Cantillon (2006–present)

Board of Consultors

Priests with key positions to the diocese, as of February 22, 2021, are as follows: *Bishop – Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara *

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

– Fr. Orlando B. Cantillon (''preceded by Ramil R. Marcos'') *Moderator Curiae - Fr. Mariano L. Baranda *Episcopal Vicar for the Clergy – Fr. Amando N. Litana *Episcopal Vicar for Guest Priests – Fr. Renier N. Llorca (''preceded by Paulino G. Balagtas'') *

Judicial Vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official ( la, links=no, officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserv ...

– Fr. Vicente R. Uy, JCD *

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

– Fr. Joeffrey Brian V. Catuiran, JCD *

Oeconomus ''Oikonomos'' ( el, οἰκονόμος, from - 'house' and - 'rule, law'), latinized œconomus, oeconomus, or economos, was an Ancient Greek word meaning "household manager." In Byzantine times, the term was used as a title of a manager or tr ...

(Treasurer) – Fr. Orlindo F. Ordoña *

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of Catholic Schools – Fr. Daniel L. Estacio

Presbyteral Council

*''Ex Officio'' Members – all the members of the Board of Consultors *Permanent Members (Vicars Forane) : Vicariate of the Immaculate Conception – Fr. Mariano Baranda : Vicariate of Santo Tomas de Villanueva – Fr. Reynaldo Reyes : Vicariate of Saint Anne – Fr. Loreto Sanchez Jr. : Vicariate of Santo Niño – Fr. Orlindo Ordoña : Other Members: : Fr. Glenn Gaabucayan : Fr. Reynaldo Reyes : Fr. Joselito Jopson : Fr. Hernandez Mendoza : Fr. Adriano Amores, Jr. : Fr. Edmond Reynaldo : Fr. Arnold Eramiz : Fr. Jorge Jesus Bellosillo : Fr. Emmanuel Hipolito : Fr. Rodolfo Paragas :

Diocesan commissions and ministries

Below is the list of priests who chair the respective diocesan ministries or commissions. *Basic Ecclesial Communities - Fr. Joselito Jopson *BIblical Apostolate - Fr. Reynaldo Reyes *Caritas Pasig, Inc. - Fr. Edmond Reynaldo *Cultural Heritage of the Church - Fr. Roy Rosales *Diocesan Council for the Laity - Fr. Orlando Cantillon *Exorcism - Fr. Daniel Estacio *Ecology - Fr. Edmond Reynaldo *Ecumenism and Inter-Faith Dialogue - Fr. Reynaldo Reyes *Catechetics - Fr. Bernardo Carpio *Family and Life - Fr. Darwin Calderon *Healthcare - Fr. Glenn Gaabucayan *Liturgical Affairs - Fr. Roberto Carlo Okol *Diocesan Marian Council - Fr. Renier Llorca *Religious Congregations and Institutes - Fr. Adriano Amores *Migrants and Itinerant People - Fr. Jorge Jesus Bellosillo *Mission Apostolate - Fr. Rodolfo Paragas Jr. *Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting - Fr. Loreto Sanchez Jr. *Pastoral Formation - Fr. Edgardo Barrameda *Pondo ng Pinoy (Pasig) - Fr. Edmond Reynaldo *Prison - Fr. Hernandez Mendoza Jr. *Renewal/Charismatic Movements - Fr. Emmanuel Hipolito *Social Communications - Fr. Joselito I. Jopson *Social Services Development Ministry - Fr. Edmond Reynaldo *Ugnayan ng Barangay at Simbahan - Fr. Loreto Sanchez Jr. *Vocation - Fr. Loreto Sanchez Jr. *Youth Affairs - Fr. Joeffrey Brian Catuiran

Statistics

The Diocese of Pasig had 1,306,505 baptized Catholics, representing 82.7 percent of all 1,580,225 people in the territory (as of March 2008). In 2006, the diocese recorded 36,475 baptisms and had 725 catechumens.

References

Bishop Vergara is Pasig's 2nd Bishop
*

*Updated Diocese of Pasig Directory from the Office of the Chancellor

External links

A Video Presentation of the Diocese of Pasig (SCS)Unofficial Blogsite of the Diocese of Pasig (by Fr. Joselito I. Jopson)

UCANEWS Pasig Diocesan ProfileSchedule of the Canonical Shrinehood of the Church of Pateros (provided by the website of the Municipality of Pateros)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasig Pasig Christian organizations established in 2003 Roman Catholic dioceses in the Philippines Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Manila Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 21st century