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Diocese of Tagbilaran

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Diocese of Tagbilaran
Dioecesis Tagbilaranus
Diyosesis sa Tagbilaran
Catholic
Tagbilaran Cathedral
Tagbilaran Cathedral
Location
Country Philippines
Territory Western Bohol (Alburquerque, Antequera, Baclayon, Balilihan, Batuan, Bilar, Calape, Catigbian, Clarin, Corella, Cortes, Dauis, Dimiao, Garcia Hernandez, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Maribojoc, Panglao, Sagbayan, San Isidro, Sevilla, Sikatuna, Tagbilaran, Tubigon, Valencia)
Episcopal conference Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines
Ecclesiastical province Cebu
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cebu
Deaneries 8
Coordinates 9°38′22″N 123°51′21″E / 9.63945°N 123.85589°E
Statistics
Area 1,734 km2 (670 sq mi)[1]
Population
Total
Catholics 		(as of 2023)
748,916[1]
705,898[1][2] ( 94.3%)
Parishes 60 (2023)[1]
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established November 8, 1941
Cathedral Diocesan Shrine and Cathedral-Parish of Saint Joseph the Worker
Patron saint Saint Joseph
Saint Roch
Secular priests 126, plus 68 religious priests (2023)[1]
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Bishop sede vacante
Metropolitan Archbishop Alberto Sy Uy
Bishops emeritus Leonardo Y. Medroso (2006–2017)
Alberto S. Uy (2017–2025)
Website
rcdt.ph

The Diocese of Tagbilaran is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, headquartered in Tagbilaran City. It is one of two dioceses in the province of Bohol, the other being the Diocese of Talibon. Both dioceses are suffragan to the Archdiocese of Cebu. The see is currently headed by its diocesan administrator, Gerardo Saco Jr.

History

The Diocese of Tagbilaran was created on November 8, 1941 and made a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cebu by the apostolic constitution In sublimi Petri cathedra.[3] But due to the complications caused by World War II, its first bishop, Julio Rosales, a priest of the Diocese of Palo took possession of the diocese after his episcopal consecration five years after Tagbilaran's erection.

On January 9, 1986, the diocese lost half of its territory after Pope John Paul II created the Diocese of Talibon, with its seat in Talibon, a major town on the northern coast of the island.[4] The Diocese of Talibon absorbed half of the civil province of Bohol.

On March 25, 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Fr. Gerardo Saco Jr. who was then serving as the diocesan administrator, to become the 8th Bishop of Tagbilaran. His appointment followed a period of vacancy, after Bishop Alberto Uy was appointed as Archbishop of Cebu.

However, on May 5, 2026 less than a month before his scheduled episcopal ordination he announced that he would no longer proceed with the appointment. In an official statement, he cited a "change of heart" reached after a period of intense prayer and spiritual discernment adding that it was rooted in a deep awareness of his “human limitation and inadequacies.[5]

Bishops of Tagbilaran

No. Bishop Period in office Notes Coat of arms
1 File:Julio Rosales.jpg Julio Rosales June 22, 1946 – December 17, 1949
(3 years, 178 days) 		Appointed Archbishop of Cebu File:Coat of arms of Julio Rosales y Ras (Tagbilaran).svg
2 File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Tagbilaran (1951).svg Manuel M. Mascariñas November 12, 1951 – July 3, 1976
(24 years, 234 days) 		Retired from office File:Coat of arms of Manuel Mascariñas y Morgia.svg
3 File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Tagbilaran (1951).svg Onesimo Cadiz Gordoncillo July 3, 1976 – June 18, 1986
(9 years, 350 days) 		Appointed Archbishop of Capiz File:Coat of arms of Onesimo Cadiz Gordoncillo (Tagbilaran).svg
4 File:His Excellency, the Most Reverend Felix Zafra.png Felix S. Zafra December 2, 1986 – April 21, 1992
(5 years, 141 days) 		Retired from office File:Coat of arms of Felix Sanchez Zafra (Tagbilaran).svg
5 Leopoldo S. Tumulak November 28, 1992 – January 15, 2005
(12 years, 48 days) 		Appointed Military Ordinary of the Philippines File:Coat of arms of Leopoldo Sumaylo Tumulak as Bishop of Tagbilaran.svg
6 File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.svg Leonardo Y. Medroso December 14, 2006 – October 13, 2016
(9 years, 304 days) 		Retired from office File:Coat of arms of Leonardo Yuzon Medroso as Bishop of Tagbilaran.svg
7 File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.svg Alberto S. Uy January 6, 2017 – July 16, 2025
(8 years, 191 days) 		Appointed Archbishop of Cebu File:Coat of arms of Alberto Sy Uy.svg
- File:Coat of arms of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.svg Gerardo F. Saco Jr.(Bishop-elect) March 25, 2026 - May 5, 2026
(41 days) 		Withdrew prior to ordination File:Coat of arms of Gerardo Fortich Saco Jr.svg

See also

Canonical status and jurisdiction

Diocese of Tagbilaran is a diocese of the catholic church of the Catholic Church.[6]

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Back to citation occurrence 1.3 Back to citation occurrence 1.4 "Diocese of Tagbilaran". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. March 25, 2026.
  2. Back to citation "Diocese of Tagbilaran". gcatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. December 31, 2022.
  3. Back to citation Pope Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution creating the Diocese of Tagbilaran In sublimi Petri cathedra (8 November 1941), Acta Apostolicae Sedis 34 (1942), 25-27. Ab archidioecesi Nominis Iesu, seu Cæbuana, territorii pars distrahitur, ex qua nova erigitur dioecesis «Tagbilarana » nuncupanda eidem archidioecesi Cæbuanæ suffraganea
  4. Back to citation Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution creating the Diocese of Talibon Apostolica Sedes (9 January 1986), Acta Apostolicae Sedis 78 (1986), 593-595. Quibusdam locis a dioecesi Tagbilarana distractis nova conditur dioecesis nomine Talibonensis
  5. Back to citation "Priest backs out of bishop role ahead of May ordination".
  6. Back to citation Diocese of Tagbilaran, official website
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