Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo

The Diocese of Antipolo (Latin: Dioecesis Antipolensis, Filipino: Diyosesis ng Antipolo, Spanish: Diócesis de Antipolo) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the Province of Rizal and the city of Marikina in Metro Manila.

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 (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, 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.

History

On January 24, 1983, during his Angelus message, Pope John Paul II announced the creation of the Diocese of Antipolo, which would encompass the whole province of Rizal, the entire Marikina, and part of Pasig (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). It is an area that was previously known in the Archdiocese of Manila as the Ecclesiastical District of Eastern Rizal. A suffragan of the said archdiocese, the diocese was canonically established on June 25, 1983.

The first bishop of Antipolo was Protacio G. Gungon. On December 3, 2001, he was succeeded by Crisostomo Yalung as the second bishop, followed by Gabriel V. Reyes, former Bishop of Kalibo 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 Diocese of Pasig 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.

On May 23, 2023, Pope Francis named Ruperto Santos as the fifth Bishop of Antipolo to succeed Francisco Mendoza de Leon who reached the retirement age of 75. Santos became the diocese's fifth bishop upon his installation on July 22, 2023.

Ordinaries

Ordinaries of the Diocese of Antipolo

No.	Portrait	Name	Coat of Arms	From	Until	Duration	Notes
Bishops of Antipolo (January 24, 1983 – present)
1	File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Antipolo.svg	Protacio G. Gungon 1925–2014	File:Coat of arms of Protacio Guevarra Gungon (Antipolo).svg	24 Jan 1983	18 Oct 2001	18 years, 8 months, 24 days	First bishop of the diocese. Retired in 2001.
2	File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Antipolo.svg	Crisostomo A. Yalung 1953–	File:Coat of arms of Crisostomo Ayson Yalung (Antipolo).svg	18 Oct 2001	7 Dec 2002	1 year, 1 month, 19 days	Resigned from office.
3	File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Antipolo.svg	Gabriel V. Reyes 1941–	File:Coat of arms of Gabriel Villaruz Reyes (Antipolo).svg	7 Dec 2002	9 Sep 2016	13 years, 9 months, 2 days	Retired. Former bishop of Kalibo and bishop of Antipolo.
4	File:Bishop Francisco M. de Leon (Marikina Fiesta 2025-2) 2025-05-11.jpg	Francisco M. de León 1947–	File:Coat of arms of Francisco Mendoza de Leon (Antipolo).svg	9 Sep 2016	24 May 2023	6 years, 8 months, 15 days	Served as auxiliary bishop before becoming ordinary. Resigned in 2023.
5	File:Ruperto Santos Augustine Baliwag Shrine1.jpg	Ruperto C. Santos 1957–	File:Coat of arms of Ruperto Cruz Santos (Antipolo).svg	24 May 2023	Incumbent	ongoing	Current bishop of Antipolo.

Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Antipolo

No.	Portrait	Name	From	Until	Duration	Notes
1	File:Bishop Francisco M. de Leon (Marikina Fiesta 2025-2) 2025-05-11.jpg	Francisco M. de León 1947–	21 Nov 2015	9 Sep 2016	9 months, 19 days	Appointed coadjutor to assist Bishop Gabriel Reyes; succeeded him as Ordinary in 2016.

Auxiliary Bishops of the Diocese of Antipolo

No.	Portrait	Name	From	Until	Duration	Notes
1	File:Bishop Francisco M. de Leon (Marikina Fiesta 2025-2) 2025-05-11.jpg	Francisco M. de León 1947–	27 Jun 2007	21 Nov 2015	8 years, 4 months, 25 days	Later appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Antipolo, then succeeded as Ordinary in 2016.
2	File:Nolly Camingue Buco 16.jpg	Nolly C. Buco 1963–	10 Jul 2018	18 Oct 2024	6 years, 3 months, 8 days	Serving until October 2024. Appointed as Bishop of Catarman.

Vicars-General

• Rev. Msgr. Jose B. Cruz (1983–1986)
• Rev. Msgr. Mariano T. Balbago, Jr., ministering in the Archdiocese of Washington (1986–1999)
• Rev. Msgr. Rigoberto S. de Guzman (1999–2018)
• Most Rev. Francisco M. de Leon, D.D. (2007–2016)
• Rev. Msgr. Generoso A. Mediarito (2018–present)
• Most Rev. Nolly C. Buco, JCD, D.D. (2018–2025)

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines
• John Paul II Minor Seminary
• Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph

External links

• Template:Commonscat-inline
• Dioecesis Antipolensis Catholic-Hierarchy.org