Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, Makati, San Juan, Mandaluyong, and Pasay. 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 of the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Manila is the oldest diocese in the Philippines, created in 1579 as a diocese and elevated as a metropolitan archdiocese in 1595. Since its last territorial changes in 2003, the Archdiocese of Manila is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of the same name, which also include five dioceses encompassing most of the National Capital Region ( Novaliches, Parañaque, Cubao, Kalookan, and Pasig) and four dioceses of its surrounding provinces of Cavite (Diocese of Imus), Rizal and Marikina City ( Diocese of Antipolo), Bulacan and Valenzuela City (Diocese of Malolos), and Laguna ( Diocese of San Pablo).

In addition, the Archdiocese also serves as the ''de facto'' overseer of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, as well as the Apostolic Vicariates of Puerto Princesa and Taytay in Palawan, all exempt dioceses of the Holy See (with the vicariates under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples).

The archdiocese also owns and manages institutions located outside its own territorial jurisdiction and on jurisdictions of other dioceses: two retreat houses in the dioceses of Baguio and Antipolo and seminary in the diocese of Parañaque, as well as the radio station DZRV Radio Veritas 846 kHz and the EDSA Shrine in the diocese of Cubao. Additionally, the archdiocese is a shareholder of the Bank of the Philippine Islands.

Its suffragan diocese of Malolos in Bulacan, along with the dioceses of San Jose and Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija (both suffragans of Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan), and Balanga (Bataan), Iba (Zambales) and Tarlac (Tarlac; suffragans of the Archdiocese of San Fernando), form the group of dioceses in Central Luzon.

Since June 24, 2021, Jose Cardinal Advincula is the Archbishop of Manila.

History

Per the efforts of conquistador Martín de Goiti – who founded the City of Manila by uniting the dominions of Sulayman III of Namayan, Sabag, Rajah Ache ''Matanda'' of Maynila who was a vassal to the Sultan of Brunei, and Lakan Dula of Tondo who was a tributary to Ming dynasty China – the Diocese of Manila was established 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 the Archdiocese 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."History – the First Cathedral 1581–1583
. Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica Official Website. Retrieved on 2013-03-22.

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 its first archbishop. Three new dioceses were created as suffragans 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