The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capiz is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the

Catholic Church in the Philippines , native_name_lang = , image = Front view of The Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = , caption = Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Concepcion , abbreviation ...

. The archdiocese covers the entire province of

Capiz Capiz, officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon/ Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; tl, Lalawigan ng Capiz), is a province in the Philippines located in the central section of Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Roxas. It ...

on the island of Panay in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

, central

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 ...

, and has its see in Roxas City. Following the installation of Cardinal

Jose Advincula José Lázaro Fuerte Advíncula, Jr. (born March 30, 1952) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church and a professed member of the Dominican Order who became 33rd Archbishop of Manila on June 24, 2021. He became a cardinal in November 202 ...

as Archbishop of Manila, Cyril Villareal, Vicar General of the archdiocese, was elected as Archdiocesan Administrator on June 28, 2021.

History

The Diocese of Capiz was carved from the territory of the Archdiocese of Jaro on 27 January 1951, and covered the whole civil provinces of

(which included

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan ( Akeanon: ''Probinsya it Akean'' k'ɣan hil, Kapuoran sang Aklan; tl, Lalawigan ng Aklan), is a province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital is Kalibo. The province is situa ...

until 1956) and

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main islands include Tablas, the largest, which covers nine municipalities; Sibuyan with its three towns; as w ...

. Two dioceses were eventually created from its territory: the

Diocese of Romblon The Roman Catholic Diocese of Romblon (Lat: ''Dioecesis Rombloniesis'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The Diocese of Romblon has 24 parishes staffed by 30 priests and 1 religious SVD brother. T ...

(19 December 1974) and the

Diocese of Kalibo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalibo is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Erected in 1976, the diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Capiz. The c ...

(17 January 1976). On 17 January 1976,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

elevated the bishopric to the rank of an archdiocese through his Papal Bull ''Nimium Patens'' which turned it into an ecclesiastical province. The dioceses of

and

Kalibo Kalibo, officially the Municipality of Kalibo ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Kalibo''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Kalibo''; tgl, Bayan ng Kalibo), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the Province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

became its suffragans. The archdiocese retained the name ''Capiz'' since its establishment predates the renaming of the municipality where it sits into Roxas City (11 April 1951).

Coat of Arms

The silver crescent on the blue background symbolizes the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, titular of the cathedral. The twins (''kapid'' in Visayan) suggest the name of the territory of the diocese, the province of

. The gold background indicates the unique honor accruing to the province from the fact that the highest men in Church and State at the time when the

became a republic were both from Capiz: the Gabriel M. Reyes then-

Archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

and

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 19 ...

, the first

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

Third Philippine Republic Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

. Hence, the twin at the dexter side holds a patriarchal cross, insignia of an archbishop, while the one at the sinister side holds a sheathed ancient ceremonial sword of command.

Suffragan dioceses

List of Ordinaries

Bishops of Capiz

Archbishops of Capiz

Affiliated bishops

* Gabriel M. Reyes, parish priest of

(1918-1920); archbishop of Cebu (1934-1949);

(1949-1952) * Jaime Sin, first rector of St. Pius X Seminary (1957-1967); archbishop of Jaro (1972-1974);

archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

(1974-2003) * Warlito I. Cajandig, appointed vicar apostolic of Calapan in 1989 * Vicente Navarra, first bishop of Kabankalan (1987-2001); bishop of Bacolod (2001-2016) * Victor B. Bendico, appointed bishop of Baguio in 2017 * Midyphil Billones, appointed auxiliary bishop of Cebu in 2019 *

, bishop of San Carlos (2001-2011); archbishop of Capiz (2011–2021); appointed

in 2021Gomes, R. (2021, March 25). Pope appoints new Archbishop in Manila. Vatican News. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-03/pope-frncis-appoints-new-archbishop-manila-philippines-advincula.html

Administered Schools

* St. Pius X Seminary (Roxas City) * Sancta Maria, Mater et Regina, Seminarium (Roxas City) *Colegio De La Purisima Concepcion

References

Catholic HierarchyCBCP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capiz

Archdiocese Christian organizations established in 1951 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Religion in Capiz Roxas City 1951 establishments in the Philippines