Roman Catholic Diocese of Masbate

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Masbate (Latin: Dioecesis Masbatensis) is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The seat of the bishop is the Cathedral Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua along Quezon Street, Masbate City.

The diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Cáceres. Its patron is Saint Anthony of Padua.

File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Masbate.svg

The former coat of arms of the Diocese of Masbate features an island topped with a church upon an agitated sea, in canton a book and lily, the symbols of St. Anthony of Padua.

History

With the other provinces of Bicol, Masbate once belonged to the Archdiocese of Cáceres. When Cáceres was elevated to the status of an archdiocese on June 29, 1951, Masbate became part of the newly erected Diocese of Sorsogon. Pope Paul VI created the Diocese of Masbate on March 23, 1968. It was formally inaugurated on September 25, 1968, with Porfírio Rivera Iligan, a priest from the Archdiocese of Cáceres, as its first bishop.

Ordinaries

No	Name	In office	Coat of arms
1.	Bishop Porfirio R. Iligan	June 17, 1968 – February 14, 1998	File:Coat of arms of Porfirio Rivera Iligan.svg
2.	Bishop Joel Z. Baylon	February 14, 1998 – October 1, 2009 appointed Bishop of Legazpi	File:Coat of Arms of Joel Z. Baylon.svg
2.	Bishop José S. Bantolo	June 15, 2011 – present	File:Coat of Arms of Jose Bantolo.svg

Vicars-general

The vicar-general assists the bishop in the administrative duties over the diocese. The offices of the vicar general and the episcopal vicars temporarily ceased upon the vacancy of the episcopal see.

• Anacleto Golimlim (†)
• Arturo Lachica (†)
• Claro Caluya III (1984–2009)
• Ismael Misolas (2009)
• Eusebio Llonoso (2011–present)

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines

Resources

• The 2010–2011 Catholic Directory of the Philippines (published by Claretian Publications for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, 2010)