The Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo (Lat: ''Dioecesis Antipolensis''; Filipino: ''Diyosesis ng Antipolo'') is a

diocese 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 associ ...

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 onc ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

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

Province of Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after Jo ...

and the city of

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), 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 456,159 people. It is locate ...

in Metro Manila. On January 24, 1983, during his Angelus message, 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 ...

announced the creation of the Diocese of Antipolo, which would encompass the whole province of

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after Jos� ...

, the entire

, and part 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 ...

(Barangays Dela Paz, Santolan, Manggahan, Rosario, and Santa Lucia, which altogether formed the Vicariate of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, now belonging to the

Diocese of Pasig The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pasig ( lat, Dioecesis Pasiginae; fil, Diyosesis ng Pasig) is the diocese of the Latin rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the cities of Pasig and Taguig, and the municipality of Pateros, ...

). It is an area that was previously known in 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 ...

as the Ecclesiastical District of Eastern Rizal. The diocese was canonically established on the June 25, 1983 and is a suffragan of the said archdiocese. The first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Antipolo was Protacio G. Gungon. On December 3, 2001, he was succeeded by

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 ...

as the second bishop, followed by Gabriel V. Reyes, former Bishop of

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, ...

in Aklan, as the third bishop. Bishop Reyes was assisted by the then-auxiliary and later coadjutor bishop, Francisco M. De Leon, who was named his successor and fourth bishop effective September 10, 2016. The diocese had its First Diocesan Synod in 1993 held at Saint Michael's Retreat House in Antipolo City. The diocese has experienced some jurisdictional changes since the time the

was created, whereby six parishes within the civil boundaries of Pasig were given to the new local church, together with seven diocesan priests serving in them. At present, the Diocese of Antipolo is considered to be one of the largest local churches in the Philippines in terms of its Catholic population. Among the 86 ecclesiastical jurisdictions present in the Philippines today, the diocese is the third largest local church in terms of its Catholic population after the Archdiocese of Cebu, and the

Diocese of Malolos The Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos (Latin: ''Dioecesis Malolosinae''; Tagalog: ''Diyosesis ng Malolos''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Malolos'') is a Roman Rite Diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippine, encompassing t ...

(Bulacan and Valenzuela City). The population of the whole area covering the diocese is 3,650,000, of which 3,280,000 (or 90%) are Catholics. The seat or center of the diocese is the

Antipolo Cathedral Antipolo Cathedral, formally known as the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage and the Immaculate Conception Parish, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Antipolo in the Philippines. It enshrines the Marian image of Our ...

, one of the most popular Marian shrines in the country where the historic Canonically crowned image of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje) (the Virgin of Antipolo) is enshrined.

Ordinaries

Auxiliary Bishops

* Francisco M. De Leon - June 27, 2007 – November 21, 2015, ''appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Antipolo'' *Nolly C. Buco - July 10, 2018 – present

Vicars-General

*Jose B. Cruz - 1983–1986 *Mariano T. Balbago, Jr. (Ministering in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.) - 1986–1999 *Rigoberto S. de Guzman - 1999–2018 *Francisco M. de Leon - 2007–2016 *Generoso A. Mediarito - 2018–present *Nolly C. Buco - 2018–present

References

{{Roman Catholic dioceses in the Philippines

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the ...

Christian organizations established in 1983 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Antipolo Religion in Rizal

Ordinaries

Auxiliary Bishops

Vicars-General

See also

References