The Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral, commonly known as the Roxas 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 ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in the city of

Roxas, Capiz Roxas (, ), officially the City of Roxas ( Capiznon/; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Capiz, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 179,292 people, making it the most populous city in Capiz an ...

, in central

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Capiz. The parish church was elevated into a cathedral following the creation of the Diocese of Capiz on January 27, 1951. However, the diocese retained the old name of ''Capiz'' as it predates the change of the city name to ''Roxas'' on April 11, 1951.

History

The church and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Roxas City (then named as Municipality of Capiz) is one of the oldest in

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of I ...

, having been founded by Augustinian missionaries in 1707. The cathedral, as it was in its first inception, is in the historic center of Roxas City and fronts the city

plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

, opposite the

Panay River The Panay River (known as Pan-ay River) is the longest river on Panay Island in the Philippines, with a total length of approximately and a drainage basin area of . It drains almost the entire province of Capiz and northern portion of Iloilo pro ...

and the Capiz Bridge. The current structure was built in 1827. In 1898, it was within the diocese of Jaro, being run by secular priests. Loctugan and Ivisan were Capiz's ''visita''s. From 1918 to 1920, Gabriel Reyes, (who became Bishop of Cebu in 1932 and

Archbishop of Manila The Archdiocese of Manila (; ; ) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Catholic Church in the Philippines, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, ...

in 1949) served as its parish priest. The cathedral had undergone restoration and reconstruction works in 1954. In the November 28, 2020, consistory, Archbishop Jose Lazaro Fuerte Advincula became the first Archbishop of Capiz to be created as a cardinal but received his red biretta and ring from Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, only on June 18, 2021, at the cathedral. Before this, he was named the 33rd Archbishop of Manila on March 25, 2021. On May 3, 2023, Bishop Victor Barnuevo Bendico, formerly the Bishop of Baguio, was installed as the new Archbishop of Capiz in the same cathedral after he was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on March 3, 2023.

Gallery

File:Immaculate Concepcion Metropolitan Cathedral Roxas inside (Rizal Street, Roxas, Capiz; 04-07-2024).jpg, Church interior in 2024

References

External links

* * {{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capiz Buildings and structures in Roxas, Capiz Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines 1707 establishments in the Spanish Empire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Churches in Capiz Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capiz Jubilee churches in the Philippines

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links