Ministry for Youth Affairs, Rodriguez (2026)

27/06/2024

The whole Kabataan ng Diyosesis ng Antipolo (KaDA) is one in celebration of the 41st Anniversary of the Canonical Er****on of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo. 🙏

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𝟒𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨
(𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟓, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑 - 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒)

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐃𝐈𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐎
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo (Lat: Dioecesis Antipolensis; Filipino: Diyosesis ng Antipolo) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the Province of Rizal and the city of Marikina in Metro Manila, comprise of a territorial area of 1,828 square kilometers and its topography of hilly towns, including coastal towns bordering Laguna de Bay, the largest inland body of water in the Philippines.

On January 24, 1983, during his Angelus message, Pope John Paul II announced the creation of the Diocese of Antipolo, which encompasses the whole province of Rizal, the entire Marikina, and part of Pasig. It is an area that was previously known in the Archdiocese of Manila as the Ecclesiastical District of Eastern Rizal. The Diocese was canonically established on June 25, 1983, and is a suffragan of the said Archdiocese.

The first bishop of Antipolo was the late Most Rev. Protacio G. Gungon. On December 3, 2001, he was succeeded by Most Rev. Crisostomo Yalung as the second bishop, followed by Most Rev. Gabriel V. Reyes as the third bishop. The then-auxiliary and later coadjutor bishop assisted Bishop Reyes, Most Rev. Francisco M. De Leon, was named his successor and fourth bishop effective September 10, 2016. The present auxiliary bishop is the Most Rev. Nolly C. Buco, the first bishop from the clergy of the diocese. Following the acceptance of the resignation of Bishop Francisco by Pope Francis, Most Rev. Ruperto Cruz Santos from Balanga was appointed to be the fifth bishop of Antipolo last May 24, 2023.

The Diocese had its First Diocesan Synod in 1993 held at Saint Michael's Retreat House in Antipolo City. The diocese has experienced some jurisdictional changes since the time the Diocese of Pasig was created, whereby 6 parishes within the civil boundaries of Pasig were given to the new local church, together with seven diocesan priests serving in them.

At present, the Diocese of Antipolo is one of the largest local churches in the Philippines in terms of its Catholic population. Among the 86 ecclesiastical jurisdictions present in the Philippines today, the diocese is the third largest local church in terms of its Catholic population after the Archdiocese of Cebu, and the Diocese of Malolos (Bulacan and Valenzuela City). The population of the whole area covering the diocese is 3,650,000, of which 3,280,000 (or 90%) are Catholics. As of today, there are 99 ordained priest and there are 78 parishes created (including 3 quasi-parishes) divided now into ten (10) vicariates in the Diocese to better address pastoral needs of the people of God. The Diocese has a minor seminary that provides an environment where the priestly vocation of these boys is discerned and fostered and now, a college seminary for those who will be taking their propaedeutic year – a groundwork for prayer, study, fraternity, and obedience for formation.

The seat or center of the diocese is the Antipolo Cathedral, the first International Shrine of the Philippines and the eleventh in the world where the canonically crowned image of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje, the Virgin of Antipolo) is enshrined.