The Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe (in Latin: ''Vicariatus Apostolicus Bontocensis-Lagavensis'') is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

missionary ecclesiastical jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate 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 ...

. It is directly exempt the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

, and directly under the jurisdiction of the Pope who exercises authority through the bishop-in-charge known as the Vicar Apostolic. For the purpose of apostolic cooperation, usually grouped with the

Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia The Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It covers the province of Ilocos Sur, on the island of Luzon. The see of the archdiocese is the city of Vigan.Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk The Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk is a Latin Church ecclesiastical missionary jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines covering the provinces of Kalinga and Apayao in northern Luzon. It is exempt directly t ...

and the Diocese of Baguio, both in the Cordilleras, to coordinate Catholic missions among the Igorot tribes. The Apostolic Vicariate operates a liaison office in the compound of the Baguio Cathedral. On 6 May 2015, Pope

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

appointed Valentin Dimoc as its fifth bishop, after the vicariate was without bishop for three years.

Territory

The apostolic vicariate comprises the two civil provinces of

Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ifugao; tl, Lalawigan ng Ifugao), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the ...

and

Mountain Province Mountain Province is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as ''Mountain'' in some foreign references. The name is usually short ...

. Based on NSO record of 2007, there are about 190,000 Catholics in the jurisdiction. The seat of the vicariate is the town of

Bontoc Bontoc may refer to: * Bontoc, Mountain Province, Philippines * Bontoc, Southern Leyte, Philippines * Bontoc people, an ethnic group from Central Luzon, Philippines * Bontoc language Bontoc (Bontok) (also called Finallig) is the native language ...

, where the Santa

Rita of Cascia Rita of Cascia, born Margherita Lotti (1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. After Rita's husband died, she joined an Augustinian community of religious sisters, whe ...

Cathedral and the vicarial chancery, known as the Teng-ab Pastoral Complex, are located. The territory is divided into 21

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

History

Records from Santa

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as R ...

Parish of Bontoc reveal that the first baptism held in Bontoc was administered by Augustinian Father Jose Iglesia on 28 November 1893. Spanish missionaries however abandoned the Bontoc Mission sometime in 1898. After a lull for almost a decade, a group of Belgian CICM missionaries led by Father Constance Jurgens and Jules Sepulchre arrived in Bontoc in time to celebrate a midnight mass on 24 December 1907 On 10 June 1948, Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

established the Apostolic Vicariate of the Mountain Province, formerly known as the

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of the Montañosa. Eleven days after, on 21 June,

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

appointed the Belgian missionary,

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 ...

William Brasseur, CICM as its first

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

. The apostolic vicariate was erected on 6 July 1992 with the apostolic constitution ''Ad aptius in Insulis Philippinis'' of

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 ...

.Pope Jon Paul II, Apostolic Constitution creating the Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe
Ad aptius in Insulis Philippinis
' (6 July 1992), ''Acta Apostolicae Sedis'' 85 (1993), p. 124. Ex distracto territorio a Vicariatu Apostolico Montano novus instituitur Vica riatus Apostolicus Bontocensis-Lavagensis. Bontoc-Lagawe was one among the three vicariates created by dividing the old Vicariate of Montañosa into three: the Vicariates of

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

(elevated into a diocese in 2004), Tabuk and Bontoc-Lagawe. Assisting the Vicar Apostolic in the governance of pastoral welfare is the Vicariate Mission Council. All members of the presbyterium form this council which meets regularly every quarter. However, it is the prerogative of the Vicar Apostolic to convene the mission council as the need arises.

Apostolic Vicars

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bontoc-Lagawe, Apostolic Vicariate of Christian organizations established in 1992 Bontoc-Lagawe Religion in Mountain Province Religion in Ifugao

Territory

History

Apostolic Vicars

See also

References