The Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao, commonly known as Cubao Cathedral, is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

located in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

, the

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. It is the

episcopal seat A cathedral is a church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcop ...

of the

Bishop of Cubao. Built in 1950 by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), it belonged to the order until 1990, when the

Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

took over its administration. In 2003, when the Diocese of Cubao was erected, the parish was elevated into the status of

. The present rector of the cathedral is Steven C. Zabala.

History

In 1935, the SVD priests of Christ the King Mission Seminary began ministering to a limited farming community around Manga Road in Cubao by first celebrating

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in a small chapel near the present Cubao roundabout. Henry Demond then celebrated Mass in the house of a certain Carbonell family, then moved to a quonset

mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that stood on what are now Spencer and Brooklyn streets. The building was abandoned by the combined US-Philippine Commonwealth Armed Forces. As with other agrarian communities, farmers tilling the area's rice paddies invoked San Isidro Labrador, so the chapel was dedicated to him and belonged to Sacred Heart Parish in the Kamuníng area. While teaching as theology professor at Christ the King Mission Seminary (and later as Prefect of Scholastics), Ambrosio Manaligod and Ronnie Ganancias consistently helped with the pastoral work of the parish, especially in directing lay organizations. In 1949, the chapel was re-dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. On July 15, 1950, the community chapel was elevated into a parish, with the first ''curé'' being the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

priest Juan Simón (1950–1954); he was succeeded by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

priests Alois Vogel (1954-1956) and Benito Rixner (1956–1958). For years, the parish remained under the SVD, as it was near the order's main residence at Christ the King Mission Seminary. In 1989, the SVD offered the parish to the Archdiocese of Manila in keeping with the missionary spirit found in their constitutions. The official handover took place on

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

, 1990, with Reynaldo Celso as the first

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

or diocesan parish priest. Due to an increase in the population of Catholics in

, the archdiocese was gradually partitioned, with the Diocese of Cubao erected on August 28, 2003. The parish was selected to be the see for the new bishop, and extensive renovations on the church were carried out soon after. On December 30, 2014,

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

, actor

Dingdong Dantes Jose Sixto "Dingdong" Gonzalez Dantes III (born August 2, 1980) professionally known as Dingdong Dantes, is a Filipino actor, filmmaker, and television personality. He is known for his acting versatility and played dramatic and fantasy-action r ...

and actress

Marian Rivera Marian Rivera Gràcia-Dantes (; born 12 August 1984) is a Filipinos, Filipino actress, television host, model and entrepreneur. She is known for her portrayals of Hero, heroines and roles in Romance film, romantic dramas. Her accolades includ ...

were

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

at the cathedral, where Dantes was christened. Considered as one of the most expensive church weddings held in the country, guests included then-

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Benigno S. Aquino III as the principal sponsor, other politicians, the couple's colleagues from the television and film industry, and various celebrities.

Ecclesiastical territory

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral once belonged to the

, but is now the seat of the Diocese of Cubao. However, it currently remains a parish as a part of the

Vicariate 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 pre ...

of the Holy Family.

Parochial bounds

The parish itself is bounded to the north by a creek running Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. and Ermín García Avenues; to the east by

EDSA Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA (), is a major Ring road, circumferential road around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or citi ...

; to the south by Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue (Santolan Road); and to the southwest by a small portion of Ermitaño Creek, parts of Horseshoe Village, N. Domingo Street and Balete Drive. Surrounding parishes are Sacred Heart to the north; Nativity of Our Lord and Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the east; and the Minor Basilica Our Lady of Mount Carmel to the west. To the south is

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, which is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Cathedral priests and rectors

Below is a list of

parish priest 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 ...

s, and upon the church's elevation to

in 2003, rectors.

Society of the Divine Word administration

* Juan Simón (1950–1954) * Alois Vogel (1955) * Benito Rixner (1956–1958) * Anselmo Bustos (1959–1962) * José Lazo (1963) * John Sleumer (1964) * Francis Kutscher (1965–1970) * George Harwardt (1971–1979) * Liberato Fernandez (1980–1990) * Chew Bing Ze (1980–1990)

Diocesan administration

* Reynaldo Y. Celso (1990–2000) * Daniel B. Sta. María (2000–2006) * Alfonso A. Bugaoan Jr. (2006–2009) * Moises M. Cabrera (2009–2012) * Ariston L. Sison Jr. (2012–2018) * Dennis S. Soriano (2018–2024) * Steven C. Zabala (2024–present)

Gallery

File:CubaoCathedraljf1054 07.JPG, Church portal File:Cubao Cathedral nave (2) 2025-04-06.jpg, Church interior facing the

choir loft A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church (building), church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the Sanctuary#Sanctuary as area a ...

. Note the

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

, clerestories, and

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

. File:CubaoCathedraljf9480 37.JPG,

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window of the family of Mary, with Saints Anne and Joachim. File:CubaoCathedraljf1073 15.JPG, Left facade File:Cubao Cathedral at Night.jpg, The Cathedral at Night File:Immaculate Conception image Cubao Cathedral 2025-04-06.jpg, Altar of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception File:San Jose Cubao Cathedral 2025-04-06.jpg, Altar of St. Joseph File:The New Cathedra.jpg, Cathedra

References

Sources

* Ecclesiastical Atlas Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao (2010) * The 2008–2009 Catholic Directory of the Philippines (published by Claretian Publications for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, June 2008)

External links

*
Diocese of Cubao website
* {{Roman Catholic churches in Manila 1950 establishments in the Philippines Roman Catholic churches in Quezon City Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines Divine Word Missionaries Order Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao Jubilee churches in the Philippines