| Archdiocese of Jaro Archdiocesis Jarensis |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Territory | San Carlos, Kabankalan, San Jose de Buenavista |
| Ecclesiastical province | Iloilo |
| Metropolitan | Jaro, Iloilo City, Iloilo |
| Statistics | |
| Population - Total |
1,761,419 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite or Latin Rite |
| Established | May 27, 1865 (Diocese), June 29, 1951 (Archdiocese) |
| Cathedral | Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral, Jaro, Iloilo City |
| Patron saint | St. Elizabeth of Hungary |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Benedict XVI |
| Archbishop | Archbishop of Jaro |
| Website | |
| [1] | |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The cathedral for the archdiocese, the Parish of Our Lady of Candles, also known as the Jaro Cathedral is in Jaro a district of Iloilo City, Iloilo on the island of Panay in the Western Visayas.
The Archdiocese of Jaro is one of the oldest dioceses in the country. It was created a diocese by virtue of a papal bull of Pope Pius IX on May 27, 1865, according to a document signed by Archbishop Gregorio Martinez, then Archbishop of Manila, under whole ecclesiastical province the new diocese belonged as suffragan.
The Archdiocese of Jaro covers the provinces of Iloilo and Guimaras, an island off Iloilo. San Jose de Antique on Panay, San Carlos in Negros Occidental and Kabankalan in Negros Occidental, are suffragans. Out of a population of 1,761,419, 89% are Catholic. Its titutar patron saint is St. Elizabeth of Hungary, whose feast is celebrated on November 17.
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The Archdiocese of Jaro
The Archdiocese of Jaro is composed of Province of Iloilo in the Islands of Panay and the Province of Guimaras, a small island lying opposite the southeastern portion of the mainland. The mainland portion itself occupies the southern and northeastern areas of Panay Island. Its borders are defined by the Diocese of San Jose de Antique in the west and the Archdiocese of Capiz in the north, with the Visayan Sea and Guimaras Strait in the east and the Panay Gulf and Iloilo Strait in the south and southeast.
The Archdiocese has ninety-one (91) parishes, eighty-five of which are under the direction of the diocesan clergy, and six (6) under the direction of the religious priests. The Metropolitan Cathedral is located in Jaro, a district of the City of Iloilo.
It has a land area of 5,324.0 square kilometres, representing 1.8 percent of the total land area of the country. In 2009, the report of the government shows that it has a total population of 2,333,141.
The province is predominantly rural with 72.7 percent of the total population residing in rural areas and only 27.3 percent in urban area. Agriculture, forestry and fishing are the leading major industries.
The diocese of Jaro whose Patron Saint is St. Elizabeth of Hungary was officially erected by virtue of the Apostolic Bull "Qui Ab Initio" of His Holiness Pope Pius IX, of holy memory. The said Apostolic Bull was issued in Rome on May 27, 1865.
Yet it was only on October 10, 1867 when the decree took effect and Jaro was made an Episcopal See, according to the document signed by His Excellency Dr. D. Gregorio Meliton Martinez, then Archbishop of Manila and executor-delegate of the decree. It is worth noting that this "decretum executorium" was also signed by the Rev. Jose Burgos, Pro-Secretary, a secular priest who became one of the outstanding martyr-heroes of the country.
Jaro was made separate from and independent of its mother Diocese of Cebu and became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Manila. Its territories comprised the Islands of Panay, (now composed of the provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique), Negros Island (now provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental), Romblon, Palawan and Jolo Groups, and the provinces of Cotabato, Zamboanga and Davao in Mindanao. Sr. Dr. Fr. Mariano Cuartero, OP, became its first bishop on April 25, 1868.
The 20th century saw the Diocese reach full maturity and attain self-sufficiency. Because of this, its territories were further divided to form new ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Zamboanga was made a Diocese in 1910 while Palawan was made an Apostolic Prelature in the same year; then Bacolod in 1933, Capiz in 1951 and finally the Prelature of San Jose, Antique in 1962 as suffragans.
Concurrently,with the elevation of Jaro to an Archdiocese, the first Filipino Bishop, the Most Rev. Jose Ma. Cuenco, DD, PhD, LIB, was raised to the rank of Metropolitan Archbishop, thereby making him the first Archbishop of Jaro.
On January 17, 1976, Pope Paul VI elevated Capiz to the rank of Archdiocese, with the dioceses of Romblon and Kalibo as its suffragans. The Archdiocese of Jaro was left with the dioceses of Bacolod (which eventually was divided into three (3) dioceses, to wit, Bacolod, San Carlos, and Kabankalan) and San Jose de Antique as its suffragans.
Most Reverend Angel N. Lagdameo, D.D.
The Most Reverend Angel N. Lagdameo, D.D. (Born August 2, 1940) is the current archbishop and also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.
He was born in Lucban in the Province of Quezon in 1940. He attended the San Jose Seminary, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, a degree in Philosophy in 1954, and a degree in theology in 1965. On December 19, 1964, Lagdameo was ordained a priest in Lucena City.
On August 12, 1980, Father Lagdameo was ordained in Lucena Cathedral as the titular bishop of Oreto. He was an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Cebu from 1980 to 1986. In 1986, he was appointed the coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Dumaguete, and succeeded to that see in 1989. He became the Archbishop of Jaro in 2000 and was elected the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines in 2005.
Most Rev. Gerardo Alimane Alminaza, D.D.
Msgr. Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of the Diocese of Bacolod. Fr. Alminaza is presently assigned as Rector of Sacred Heart Seminary of the Diocese of Bacolod. He is nominated by Pope Benedict XVI on May 29, 2008 as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Jaro.
Bishop-elect Gerardo Alminaza was born in San Jose, Sipalay, Negros Occidental on 14 August 1959. He studied Philosophy at Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod and completed his Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He also had his post graduate studies at Fordham University in New York and obtained his Doctorate in Educational Management at the University of Negros Occidental in Bacolod City.
He was ordained to the Sacred Order of Presbyters on April 29, 1996 for the Diocese of Bacolod.
He was assigned as Parochial Vicar of the Parish of St. Francis Xavier in Kabankalan. He also served as Dean of Studies, then Spiritual Director, and then before the nomination as Rector of Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod City. He is also the Chairman of the Commission on Clergy of the Diocese of Bacolod.
Bishop Alminaza holds the title as Titular Bishop of Maximiana in Byzacenea
The following is the list of bishops and archbishops of Jaro:
Living
Deceased
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