The Diocese of Parañaque (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Dioecesis Paranaquensis''; Filipino: ''Diyosesis ng Parañaque''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Parañaque'') is a

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, prov ...

of the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Metro Manila, Philippines which encompasses the cities of

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

Las Piñas Las Piñas (, officially the City of Las Piñas (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of ...

, and

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

. Previously belonging to 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 ...

, the Ecclesiastical District of Parañaque (formerly, PPLM) was declared an independent diocese on December 7, 2002, by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

by virtue of the papal bull ''Ad Efficacius''. The district bishop, Jesse Eugenio Mercado, also one of the auxiliary bishops of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, was designated as its first and only bishop and was formally installed on January 28, 2003. The diocese comprises 50 full-fledged parishes (five of which are pronounced diocesan shrines, 3 of which are national shrines, and 1 Minor Basilica), 2 quasi-parishes, and 1 non-parochial shrine. The Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso de Palanyag – Saint Andrew Cathedral-Parish in La Huerta, Parañaque serves as the

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

of the diocese.

Creation of the Diocese

On December 7, 2002,

erected the Diocese of Parañaque through the

Apostolic Constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

''Ad efficacius'', upon the recommendation of Cardinal

Jaime Sin Jaime Cardinal 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 also formally known as Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardina ...

and consultation with the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (abbreviated as CBCP) is the permanent organizational assembly of the Catholic bishops of the Philippines exercising together certain pastoral offices for the Christian faithful of their terr ...

. The

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

, Archbishop Antonio Franco, endorsed this request to the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

, and it was considered and approved by the Pope. It effectively carved the cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Muntinlupa from the Archdiocese of Manila. The diocese thus became a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the archdiocese, with the Archbishop of Manila as its

metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

. The parish of Saint Andrew was raised to the rank and dignity of a Cathedral being the see of Parañaque. The parish was oldest in the area, thus given the honor to be the see of the bishop and the city where it stands became eponymous to the diocese. Jesse Eugenio Mercado was appointed bishop of the diocese on the day of its establishment, and installed to be the first bishop of the Diocese of Paranaque on January 28, 2003. At the time of its erection, the Diocese of Parañaque has an area of and a population of 1,381,000, of which 1,269,122 were Catholics, with 48 parishes, 46 diocesan priests, 87 religious priests, 87 male religious institutes, 61 female religious institutes, 382 educational institutions and 35 charitable institutions.

Statistics

As of 2019, the total population within the territory of the diocese was 1,857,355, of whom 1,476,597 were Catholics. There diocese has 50

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es. Three of them,

Baclaran Church The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, also known as the Redemptorist Church () and colloquially as Baclaran Church (), is a national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque cit ...

, Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Parañaque, and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Muntinlupa, have been declared National shrines. Five ar
Diocesan Shrines
Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso de Palanyag, Diocesan Shrine of St. Joseph Parish, Diocesan Shrine of the Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish and Diocesan Shrine of St. Peregrine Laziosi Parish. There are four quasi-parishes and two chaplaincies ministered to by the clergy, grouped in six vicariates: three in Parañaque, two in Las Piñas and one in Muntinlupa.

Coat of arms of the Diocese

The miter symbolizes the pastoral authority of the bishop over the diocese, represented by the three divisions in the shield. On top is represented the first city within the diocese and its seat, Parañaque. It is symbolized by the crown with an "M" standing for the patroness of the city, Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso de Palanyag. In the middle is Las Piñas pictured by the internationally acclaimed Bamboo Organ housed in the parish of St. Joseph found in the said city. The third city of the jurisdiction of the diocese is Muntinlupa with the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of the small mountain near a body of water. Red represents the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, and the blue,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

. The gradation from red to blue is symbolic of the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit on Mary, thus the incarnation of Jesus (Luke 1:34). The movement from dark (color) to bright is the hope that through the episcopal ministry, the "dawn from on high shall break" (Luke 1:78) upon the people of God in the diocese.

Ordinaries

References

External links

The Official Website of the Diocese of Parañaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paranaque Roman Catholic dioceses in the Philippines Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Manila Christian organizations established in 2002 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 21st century 2002 establishments in the Philippines Religion in Metro Manila Parañaque