The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuguegarao is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

metropolitan archdiocese A metropolis, metropolitanate or metropolitan diocese is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces. Eastern Ortho ...

of the

Catholic Church in the Philippines As part of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Catholic Church in the Philippines (), or the Philippine Catholic Church or Philippine Roman Catholic Church, is part of the world's largest Christian church under the spiritual leadership of the P ...

Tuguegarao Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao (; ; ; ), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 ...

is a river delta city that became center of the archdiocese in the province of

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

, on the island of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

. Its seat is located at the Saint Peter the Apostle Metropolitan Cathedral.

Description

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, the present territorial jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao covers the entire province of

History

The missionaries of

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...

first evangelized

in 1595. They brought not only the tenets of Christian faith but also western technologies, infrastructures and ideas that helped in the livelihood and welfare of the Cagayanos. The

Church of Saint Peter The Church of Saint Peter (also known as St. Peter's Cave Church and Cave-Church of St. Peter; (romanization); ) near Antakya (Antioch), is composed of a cave carved into the mountainside on Mount Starius with a depth of 13 m (42 ft. ...

was constructed in 1761. It later became the diocesan cathedral. The Diocese of Tuguegarao was created April 10, 1910 with decree of the Congregation of the Sacred Consistory ''"Nova Diocesum Circumscriptio In Insulis Philippinis"''. At the time of its foundation until 1951, its territorial jurisdiction stretched from the

Batanes Batanes, officially the Province of Batanes (; Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Batanes''; , ), is an archipelagic province in the Philippines, administratively part of the Cagayan Valley region. It is the northernmost province in the Philippines, an ...

to Nueva Vizcaya. The first bishop of Tuguegarao was Bishop Maurice P. Foley and he took possession of his diocese on December 6, 1911. Father John E. Killion was his secretary. He convoked the first Diocesan Synod of Tuguegarao from April 16–19, 1912. After his appointment as bishop of Jaro, he was succeeded by Bishop Santiago C. Sancho as the second bishop of Tuguegarao. He established the San Jacinto Seminary in 1980 in order to cater to the formation of native clergy and it was given to the administration of

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

of the Collegio de San Jacinto. He convoked the second Diocesan Synod of Tuguegarao from April 12–14, 1923. Sancho was appointed bishop of Nueva Segovia in 1927 and he was succeeded by Bishop Constant J. Jurgens as the third bishop of Tuguegarao. He was regarded as the ''"Teaching Bishop"'' because of his priority for education as a tool for evangelization. He also promoted catechism for children and the devotion to the blessed Mother in his diocese. He convoked the third Diocesan Synod of Tuguegarao from August 27–28, 1935. Jurgens was the bishop of Tuguegarao during 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 ...

. Jurgens resigned on May 6, 1950, and he was succeeded by his

Coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

, Bishop Alejandro A. Olalia. He re-opened the San Jacinto Seminary as a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

18-years after it was closed by his predecessor in 1932. Olalia took part in the First Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1953. Upon his appointment as bishop of Lipa, a four-year vacancy ensued the diocese. The

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Nueva Segovia, Juan C. Sison, served as

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

. There were significant events that occurred in those 4 years. On June 20, 1954, the image of

Our Lady of Piat Our Lady of Piat ( or ) is a 16th-century Roman Catholic icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined in a minor basilca situated in Piat, Cagayan, Philippines. It is the town's and the province's patroness and is one of the most venerated Mar ...

was canonically crowned by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi at the patio of the St. Peter's Cathedral. He also built the present residence and offices of the bishop of Tuguegarao. In 1957, Teodulfo S. Domingo was appointed as the fourth bishop of Tuguegarao and he was the first native of

to be consecrated as

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. Domingo took part in all the session of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

and he was a witness to the early years of the implementation of council's reforms in the diocese of Tuguegarao. On September 21, 1974, Tuguegarao was elevated as an

archdiocese 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 associated ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

and Domingo was appointed as the first

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Tuguegarao. He is the longest serving ordinary of Tuguegarao. Having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, Domingo resigned on January 31, 1986, and he was succeeded by the

of Tuguegarao, Diosdado A. Talamayan, as the second archbishop of Tuguegarao. He founded the priestly formation institute at the Lyceum of Aparri in 1990. He took part in the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991 and later convoked the first Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly of Tuguegarao also that same year. On March 10, 1997, the Sanctuary of the Our Lady of Piat was elevated to a

Minor Basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. On June 15, 2011, Talamayan was succeeded by Bishop Sergio L. Utleg as the third archbishop of Tuguegarao. Utleg is renowned of his advocacies promoting social justice and the protection of the integrity of creation. On October 18, 2019,

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 ...

accepted the resignation of Archbishop Utleg and he was succeeded by Bishop Ricardo L. Baccay as the fourth Archbishop of Tuguegarao. He is the first archbishop of Tuguegarao from Tuguegarao City. He was installed on January 14, 2020, at the St. Peter's Metropolitan Cathedral.

Historical summary

Coat of arms

Suffragan dioceses

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Bishops'' ;''Archbishops''

Timeline of episcopal ordinaries

Auxiliary bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Miguel Gatan Purugganan (March 2, 1957, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Segovia; later appointed as Bishop of Ilagan) * Ramon Barrera Villena (March 30, 1963, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Tagum; later appointed Bishop of Bayombong) *

Salvador Lazo Lazo Salvador Lazo y Lazo (May 1, 1918 – April 11, 2000) was a Filipino people, Filipino prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A Traditionalist Catholicism, Traditionalist Catholic, he served as Roman Catholic Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, B ...

(Aug 3, 1977, Appointed, Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Segovia; later appointed as Bishop of San Fernando de La Union) * Rodolfo Fontiveros Beltran (Mar 18, 2006, Appointed, Vicar Apostolic of Bontoc-Lagawe; later appointed as Bishop of San Fernando de La Union) * Danilo Bangayan Ulep (May 20, 2017, Appointed, Bishop-Prelate of Batanes)

Address

The office of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao is currently located at ''The Archbishop's Palace, Rizal Street, Centro 10, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines''.

References

External links

Catholic HierarchyParishes

San Jacinto Seminary Alumni Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Tuguegarao Roman Catholic dioceses in the Philippines, Tuguegarao

Archdiocese 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 associated ...

Tuguegarao Religion in Cagayan