The Territorial Prelature of Infanta () 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 ...

territorial prelature A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

located in the municipality of Infanta, Quezon, in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of Lipa in the Philippines. It was established on April 25, 1950 by the papal bull "Precibus annuentes" taking a portion of the then-Diocese of Lipa. In 1953, some municipalities in the civil province of Isabela was added into it. However, it was taken again by the Diocese of Tuguegarao on August 16, 1955. Originally, the prelature was a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Manila but was transferred to the Ecclesiastical Province of Lipa on June 20, 1972. The two main divisions of the prelature is based on the two geographical units that comprises it: the province of Quezon and the province of Aurora. Furthermore, it is governed by the prelate through four vicariates that covers (1) the parishes of Real, Infanta, and Nakar, (2) the parishes of the Polillo Group of Islands, (3) parishes within Central Aurora province, and (4) parishes in the span of Northern Aurora.

Erection

The prelature was erected by Pius XII on April 25, 1950 carving it from the Diocese of Lipa. Its territory included the islands of Polillo and the northern part of the province of

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...

. At this time, the province of

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

is a sub-province of Quezon. The boundaries of the prelature was defined to reach the Diocese of Tuguegarao to the north; to the west, Nueva Vizcaya,

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

, and Rizal; the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

is the eastern boundary; while the common boundaries of Infanta and Mauban is in the south. Upon the erection of the See of Infanta, Bishop Rufino Jiao Santos (later Archbishop of Manila and a cardinal) was appointed Apostolic Administrator. A year later, on July 11, 1951, Rev. Fr. Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD, Vicar Provincial of the

Order of Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catholic mendican ...

in the Philippine Islands, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Prelature of Infanta.

Bishop Prelates

The Prelature of Infanta was first administered as a mission of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. Its apostolic administrators and bishops were members of the religious order until 2015. These include Bishop Patrick Shanley, OCD, Fr. Joseph Flanery, OCD, Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD, and Bishop Rolando Tirona, OCD.

Apostolic Administrators

Parishes

Vicariate of Infant Jesus and Saint Mark * Divine Infant Jesus of Prague and Saint Mark Parish (Infanta Cathedral), Infanta, Quezon * Saints Anne and Joachim Parish, General Nakar, Quezon * Saint Rafael the Archangel Parish, Real, Quezon * Saint Joseph Quasi-Parish, Barangay Llavac, Real, Quezon Vicariate of Saint Joseph * Prelature Shrine of Saint Joseph, Polillo, Quezon * Saint Rafael Parish, Burdeos, Quezon * Saint John the Baptist Parish, Panukulan, Quezon * Saint Isidore Parish, Patnanungan, Quezon * Nuestra Señora dela Salvacion Parish, Jomalig, Quezon Vicariate of San Luis Obispo * San Luis Obispo Parish, Baler, Aurora * San Luis Rey Parish, San Luis, Aurora * Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish, Maria Aurora, Aurora * Maria, Ina ng Sambayanan ng mga Dukha Parish, Quirino, Maria Aurora * Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish, Dipaculao, Aurora * Saint Patrick Parish, Dingalan, Aurora Vicariate of Saint Anthony of Padua * Saint Anthony de Padua Parish, Casiguran, Aurora * Saint Isidore the Farmer Parish, Dinalungan, Aurora * Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Dilasag, Aurora * Nuestra Señora dela Salvacion Parish, Casiguran, Aurora

References

Sources

GCatholic.org

Prelature website

External links

* Roman Catholic dioceses in the Philippines Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Lipa Christian organizations established in 1950 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Territorial prelatures 1950 establishments in the Philippines Religion in Quezon {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub