Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila

Archdiocese of Manila Archidioecesis Manilensis Arkidiyosesis ng Maynila Arquidiócesis de Manila
Manila Cathedral in Intramuros
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Metro Manila Bulacan Cavite Laguna Rizal
Headquarters	121 Arzobispo Street Intramuros, Manila 1002
Coordinates	14°35′26″N 120°58′15″E / 14.5904202°N 120.9708023°E / 14.5904202; 120.9708023
Statistics
Area	549 km2 (212 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004 (2004)) 2,993,000 2,419,781 (80.9%)
Parishes	84
Members	347
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	February 6, 1579 (1579-02-06) Diocese August 14, 1595 (1595-08-14) Archdiocese
Cathedral	Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Patron saint	Immaculate Conception
Secular priests	640 (Diocesan: 271, Religious: 369)
Language	English and Filipino
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Most Rev. Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, DD SThD
Auxiliary Bishops	Most Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, DD[1]
Vicar General	Very Rev. Msgr. Jose Clemente F. Ignacio, PC[1]
Emeritus Bishops	Most Rev. Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, DD 2003–2011 Most Rev. Teodoro J. Buhain, Jr., DD Auxiliary 1983–2003
Map
Jurisdiction of the metropolitan see within the Philippines.
Website
www.rcam.org

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (Latin: Archidioecesis Manilensis; Filipino: Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; Spanish: Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, Makati, San Juan, Pasay (except for Villamor Air Base and Newport City which is under the jurisdiction of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines), and Mandaluyong. The current Archbishop is Luis Antonio Gokim Cardinal Tagle, D.D., S.Th.D, the 32nd to hold the office and the fifth native Filipino following centuries of Spanish, American, and Irish predecessors.

The cathedral church is a minor basilica located in Intramuros, which comprises the old city of Manila. The Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title Immaculate Conception, is the principal patroness.

The archdiocese also owns and manages the following institutions located outside its own territorial jurisdiction: Mount Peace Retreat House (in Baguio City, Benguet), Saint Michael Retreat House (in Antipolo City, Rizal), Radio Veritas (in Barangay Philam, Quezon City), and EDSA Shrine or the Archdiocesan Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace (in Barangay Ugong Norte, Quezon City).

History

Per the efforts of conquistador Martín de Goiti—who founded the City of Manila by uniting the dominions of Sulayman III of Namayan, and Sabag, Rajah Ache Matanda of Maynila who was a vassal to the Sultan of Brunei, and Lakan Dula of Tondo—the Diocese of Manila was then canonically erected on February 6, 1579 through the Papal bull Illius Fulti Præsidio by Pope Gregory XIII, encompassing all Spanish colonies in Asia as a suffragan of Mexico. Fray Domingo de Salazar, a Dominican from the Convent of San Sebastian in Salamanca, Spain, was selected by King Philip II of Spain to be bishop of the new diocese and was presented to the pope.^[2]

Over the course of history and growth of Catholicism in the Philippines, the diocese was elevated and new dioceses had been carved from its territory. On August 14, 1595, Pope Clement VIII raised the diocese to the status of an archdiocese with Bishop Ignacio Santibáñez elevated as its first archbishop. Three new dioceses were created as suffragan to Manila: Nueva Cáceres, Nueva Segovia, and Cebu. With the creation of these new dioceses, the territory of the archdiocese was reduced to the city of Manila and the adjoining civil provinces in proximity including Mindoro Island. It was bounded to the north by the Diocese of Nueva Segovia, to the south by the Diocese of Cebu, and to the southeast by the Diocese of Nueva Cáceres.^[3]

Interior of the Throne Room in the Archbishop's Palace as it was during the Spanish colonial period.

During the Hispanic period, the Archdiocese was ruled by a succession of Spanish and Latino archbishops. The British occupation of Manila during the Seven Years' War saw the temporary conversion of Sultan Azim ud-Din I of Sulu to Catholicism, the massive looting and destruction of ecclesiastical treasures, as well as the burning of churches by British soldiers, Sepoy mercenaries and rebellious Chinese residents in Binondo. This episode was particularly damaging to Philippine scholarship due to the fact that the monasteries holding the archives and artifacts about the precolonial Philippine Rajahnates, Datudoms, Sultanates and Huangdoms and their conversion to Catholicism; were either burnt, lost or looted by the British. An example of which would be the Boxer Codex, whose earliest owner Lord Giles of Ilchester, had inherited it from an ancestor who stole it from Manila during the British Occupation.^[4]

Nevertheless, peace was subsequently restored after the Protestant British occupation. In the time after this, the Catholic religious orders (with the exception of the Jesuits who were temporarily suppressed by the Spaniards due to their role in anti-imperialist movements in Latin America) became the powerful driving force in the Archdiocese of Manila. The local diocesan clergy resented the foreign religious orders due to their near monopoly of ecclesiastical positions. The opposition of the religious orders against an autonomous diocesan clergy independent of them lead to the martyrdom of priests Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, Jacinto Zamora collectively known as Gomburza. This inspired the Jesuit educated Jose Rizal to form the La Liga Filipina, to ask for reforms from Spain and recognition of local clergy.

Rizal was executed and the La Liga Filipina dissolved. The 1896 Philippine revolution was triggered when the Spanish discovered the anti-colonial secret organisation Katipunan, and ended Spanish rule. The United States took the Philippines from Spain in the 1898 Spanish–American War; this developed into fighting between the Philippine revolutionaries and the US in the 1899–1902 Philippine–American War, followed by victory for the US and disestablishment of the Roman Catholic Church as the state church of the Philippines. Some members of the Katipunan then turned to the Catholic Church, especially to the Jesuit order who had fostered Philippine nationalism in the students they educated. In the period after the war Philippine churches were restored in the Art-Deco architectural motif.

The province of Mindoro was established as an independent diocese on April 10, 1910 by virtue of a Decretum Consistoriale executed by Pope Pius X, implementing the Bull Quae Mari Sinico of Pope Leo XIII. On the same date the Diocese of Lipa (later Archdiocese of Lipa) was created, with jurisdiction over the provinces of Batangas, Tayabas, Marinduque and some parts of Masbate.

In May 1928 Pope Pius XI established the Diocese of Lingayen, carved from Manila and Nueva Segovia. In this creation 26 parishes were separated from Manila. He also named Our Lady of Guadalupe as a patroness of the Filipino people in 1938.

December 8, 1941, marked the beginning of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.^[5] Members of the secretive Black Dragon Society had infiltrated all facets of Philippine life and had greatly guided the invading Japanese forces. World War 2 marked a period of irreplaceable loss to the Archdiocese of Manila. The combination of violent theft and arson done by the Japanese and the indiscriminate carpet bombing perpetuated by the Americans lead to the permanent loss of many of the ancient Gothic, Art-Deco and Earthquake Baroque Cathedrals found around the Archdiocese of Manila.^[6]

In the aftermath of the war, in September 1942, Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Immaculate Conception as the Principal Patroness of the Philippines on the Papal Bull, Impositi Nobis, along with Saints Pudentiana and Rose of Lima as secondary patrons.^[7]

Due to the heavy damages resulted from World War II, the Manila Cathedral underwent major rebuilding from 1946 to 1958. The Parish of San Miguel served as pro-cathedral or temporary cathedral of the local church until the Manila Cathedral was reopened and consecrated in 1958.

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 partitioned. The civil provinces of Bulacan in the north and Cavite in the south were separated from the Archdiocese with the northern part becoming the Diocese of Malolos and the south the Diocese of Imus.

Pope John Paul II declared the Manila Cathedral a minor basilica in 1981 through a Motu Proprio. In 1983, fifteen towns in Eastern Rizal, the city of Marikina, and two barangays of Pasig were separated to form the Diocese of Antipolo.

The archdiocese witnessed many grace-filled church events such as the Second Synod of Manila (1911), the Third Synod of Manila (1925), the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress (1937), the First Plenary Council of the Philippines (1953), the papal visit of Pope Paul VI (1970), the Fourth Synod of Manila (1979), the papal visits of Pope John Paul II (the first in 1981 and the second in 1995), the National Marian Year (1985), the National Eucharistic Year (1987), the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (1991), the Second Provincial Council of Manila (1996), the 4th World Meeting of Families (2003), and the papal visit of Pope Francis (2015).

In 2002, two more dioceses were carved out of the Archdiocese: the Diocese of Novaliches in the north and the Diocese of Parañaque in the south, which comprised the cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.

In 2003, by the recommendation of Jaime Cardinal Sin (the spiritual leader of the People Power Revolution) and by papal decree, the archdiocese was further partitioned to form three new dioceses: the dioceses of Cubao, Kalookan, and Pasig.

Archbishop

The seat of the Archbishop is in Manila Cathedral-Basilica, under the patronage of the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The Archbishop is also overseer of several suffragan dioceses of Manila.

After having been served by a single diocesan bishop, nineteen archbishops were later appointed from Spain. In 1903, the archdiocese received its first American archbishop as appointed by the Holy See. Following the tenure of Archbishop Jeremiah James Harty from St. Louis, Missouri, the Irishman Michael J. O'Doherty was appointed, and received on September 6, 1916.

O'Doherty would lead the church in times when the Filipinos were petitioning for sovereignty from the United States and the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines during World War II. When O'Doherty died after Philippine independence in 1946, Rev. Gabriel Reyes, already serving as coadjutor archbishop, became the first native Filipino chosen for the position. Reyes' successor, Archbishop Rufino Jiao Santos, became the first Filipino to become a cardinal in 1960. After Santos' death in 1973, Auxiliary Bishop Artemio Casas was named in the capacity of vicar-capitular to oversee the archdiocese until a bishop was nominated. On January 21, 1974, Pope Paul VI appointed then-Archbishop of Jaro Jaime Sin as the 30th Archbishop of Manila. Archbishop Sin was named cardinal in 1976 and would later be instrumental in the People Power Revolution of 1986 that ousted President Ferdinand Marcos.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop of Lipa, to succeed an ageing Cardinal Sin. Pope Benedict XVI later elevated Rosales to the cardinalate on March 24, 2006. On October 13, 2011, Most Reverend Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Bishop of Imus, was named archbishop. Tagle succeeded Cardinal Rosales, who had resigned at the compulsory age of retirement, and is now Archbishop Emeritus. Tagle was himself made a cardinal by Benedict XVI on November 24, 2012.

List of Archbishops of Manila

No.	Picture	Name	From	Until
1		Domingo de Salazar, O. P.	February 6, 1579	December 4, 1594
2		Ignacio Santibáñez, O.F.M.	August 30, 1595	August 14, 1598
3		Miguel de Benavides, O. P.	October 7, 1602	July 26, 1605
4		Diego Vázquez de Mercado	May 28, 1608	June 12, 1616
5		Miguel García Serrano, O.S.A.	February 12, 1618	June 14, 1629
6		Hernando Guerrero, O.S.A.	January 9, 1634	July 1, 1641
7		Fernando Montero Espinosa	February 5, 1646	1648
8		Miguel de Poblete Casasola	January 21, 1649	December 8, 1667
9		Juan López, O. P.	1672	February 12, 1674
10		Felipe Fernandez de Pardo, O. P.	October 28, 1681	December 31, 1689
11		Diego Camacho y Ávila	August 19, 1696	January 14, 1704
12		Francisco de la Cuesta, O.S.H.	August 12, 1707	1722
13		Carlos Bermúdez Gonzalez	1722	November 13, 1729
14		Juan Ángel Rodríguez, O.S.T.	May 18, 1731	June 24, 1742
15		Pedro de la Santísima Trinidad Martínez de Arizala, O.F.M.	February 3, 1744	May 28, 1755
16		Manuel Antonio Rojo del Río y Vieyra	1758	1764
17		Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa, S.P.	April 14, 1766	December 15, 1787
18		Juan Antonio Orbigo de Gallego, O.F.M.	December 15, 1788	May 17, 1797
19		Juan Antonio Zulaibar, O. P.	March 26, 1804	March 4, 1824
20		Hilarión Díez, O.S.A.	July 3, 1826	May 7, 1829
21		José Seguí, O.S.A.	July 5, 1830	July 4, 1845
22		José Aranguren, O.A.R.	January 19, 1846	April 18, 1861
23		Gregorio Melitón Martínez Santa Cruz	December 23, 1861	1875
24		Pedro Payo y Piñeiro, O.P.	January 28, 1876	January 1, 1889
25		Bernardino Nozaleda y Villa, O. P.	May 27, 1889	February 4, 1902
26		Jeremiah James Harty	June 6, 1903	May 16, 1916
27		Michael J. O'Doherty	September 6, 1916	October 13, 1949
28		Gabriel Reyes y Martelino	October 13, 1949	October 15, 1952
29		Rufino Cardinal Santos y Jiao	February 10, 1953	September 3, 1973
30		Jaime Cardinal Sin y Lachica	March 19, 1974	September 15, 2003
31		Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales y Borbon	November 21, 2003	October 13, 2011
32		Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle y Gokim	December 12, 2011	present[8]

Auxiliary bishops

• Most Rev. Ginés Barrientos, O.P., D.D. (1680–1698)
• Most Rev. Jose Maria Segui Molas, D.D. (1829–1830)
• Most Rev. William Finnemann, D.D. (1929–1936)
• Most Rev. Cesar Maria Guerrero y Gutierrez, D.D. (1937–1949)
• Cardinal Rufino J. Santos, D.D. (1947–1953)
• Most Rev. Vicente P. Reyes, D.D. (1950–1961)
• Most Rev. Hernando Izquierdo Antiporda, D.D. (1954–1975)
• Most Rev. Pedro Bantigue y Natividad, D.D. (1961–1967)
• Most Rev. Bienvenido M. Lopez, D.D. (1966–1995)
• Most Rev. Artemio G. Casas, D.D. (1968–1974)
• Most Rev. Amado Paulino y Hernandez, D.D. (1969–1985)
• Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, D.D. (1974–1982)
• Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz, D.D. (1976–1978)
• Most Rev. Protacio G. Gungon, D.D. (1977–1983)
• Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi, O.P., D.D. (1977–1984)
• Most Rev. Manuel C. Sobreviñas, D.D. (1979–1993)
• Most Rev. Gabriel V. Reyes, D.D. (1981–1992)
• Most Rev. Teodoro J. Buhain, Jr., D.D. (1983–2003)
• Most Rev. Teodoro Bacani, D.D. (1984–2002)
• Most Rev. Leoncio L. Lat, D.D. (1985–1992)
• Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, D.D. (1993–1995)
• Most Rev. Crisostomo A. Yalung, D.D. (1994–2001)
• Archbishop Rolando Joven Tria Tirona, O.C.D., D.D. (1994–1996)
• Most Rev. Jesse E. Mercado, D.D. (1997–2002)
• Archbishop Socrates Villegas, D.D. (2001–2004)
• Most Rev. Bernardino C. Cortez, D.D. (2004–2014)
• Most Rev. Broderick Soncuaco Pabillo, D.D. (2006–Present)

Coadjutor Archbishops

• Most Rev. Romualdo J. Ballesteros, D.D. (1845–1846)
• Most Rev. Gabriel V. Reyes, D.D. (1949–1952)

^[9]

College of Consultors

Below are member priests of the College of Consultors of the Archdiocese of Manila since July 1, 2015. Auxiliary bishops also serve as vicars general.

• Auxiliary Bishop of Manila – Most Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo, D.D., S.S.L.
• Vicar General and Moderator Curiae – Rev. Msgr. Jose Clemente F. Ignacio, P.C.
• Episcopal Vicar for Chancery Affairs, Chancellor & Private Secretary to the Archbishop – Rev. Fr. Reginald R. Malicdem, MAL, PhD
• Episcopal Vicar for Foreign Communities Concern – Rev. Msgr. Esteban U. Lo, LRMS, P.C.
• Episcopal Vicar for the Diocesan Clergy – Rev. Msgr. Jesus-Norriel Bandojo, P.C.
• Episcopal Vicar for Religious – Rev. Fr. James T. Ferry, MM (Acting)
• Judicial Vicar – Rev. Msgr. Geronimo F. Reyes, P.C., J.C.D.
• Oeconomus – Rev. Fr. Cesar A. Buhat

Demographics

As of 2004, the archdiocese has registered a total of 2,719,781 baptized faithful. They are served by 475 diocesan and religious priests – with a ratio of 5,725 faithful per priest, 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 administers San Carlos Seminary, the archdiocesan major seminary which caters to the formation of future priests for the archdiocese and for its suffragan dioceses. Located in Guadalupe Viejo, Makati City, it has college program (AB Philosophy) and graduate school (master's degree in theology or pastoral ministry), as well as formation houses for future priests committed to serve the Filipino-Chinese communities in the country (Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society) and a center for adult vocations (Holy Apostles Senior Seminary). The archdiocese also operates Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary for young men at the secondary school level. It is located a few blocks from San Carlos Seminary.

Parishes

Façade of the Basilica Minore de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila. The church enshrines the Black Nazarene, an image of Jesus believed to be miraculous, which attracts thousands of devotees on Fridays and millions during its annual procession on 9 January.

The Virgin Mary as the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the Archdiocese. Consecrated by Pope Pius XII's Papal Bull Impositi Nobis in 1942, the Immaculate Conception is also honoured as "Principal Patroness" of the Philippine Islands.

Vicariate of Nuestra Señora de Guia (Ermita; Intramuros; Malate, Manila)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Benjie Ledesma

Vicariate of San José de Trozo (Quiapo; San Miguel; Santa Cruz, Manila)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Msgr. Hernando M. Coronel, PC., MBA., MPA., MA.

Vicariate of the Holy Spirit (Santa Cruz; Tondo, Manila)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Hector Ulysses Cañon

Vicariate of Our Lady of Loreto (Sampaloc; Santa Mesa, Manila)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Jerome R. Secillano, MPA
• Vicariate Coordinator for Social Communications: Rev. Fr. Louie R. Coronel, OP, STL-MA, HEL

Vicariate of Sto. Niño (Binondo; Tondo, Manila)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Estelito E. Villegas

Vicariate of San Fernando de Dilao (Paco; Pandacan, Manila)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Carmelo P. Arada Jr.

Vicariate of the Holy Family (Malate; Paco; San Andres; Santa Ana, Manila)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Benito B. Tuazon

Vicariate of Sta. Clara de Montefalco (Pasay City)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Michael D. Kalaw

Vicariate of Saint John the Baptist (Mandaluyong City, San Juan City and Ortigas, Quezon City)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Msgr. Esteban U. Lo, LRMS., PC

Vicariate of San Felipe Neri (Mandaluyong City)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Rey Anthony I. Yatco

Vicariate of Saints Peter and Paul (Makati City)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Msgr. Dennis S. Odiver, PC

Vicariate of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Makati City)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Fr. Benjamin D. Jugueta, Jr.

Vicariate of Saint Joseph the Worker (Makati City)

• Vicar Forane: Rev. Msgr. Roberto A. Espenilla, PC

Suffragan dioceses

See also

• Roman Catholicism in the Philippines
• The Royal and Conciliar San Carlos Seminary

Resources

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila
•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Archdiocese of Manila". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Gregory XIII, Pope, 1502–1585. "Bull for erection of the Diocese and Cathedral Church of Manila." In The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898. Cleveland, Ohio: A.H. Clark Company, 1903-9. Vol. 4, 1576–82. Pp. 119–124.

References

Coordinates: 14°35′29″N 120°58′25″E / 14.59139°N 120.97361°E / 14.59139; 120.97361