Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capiz

Archdiocese of Capiz Archidioecesis Capicensis Artsidiyosesis sang Capiz Arkidiyosesis ng Capiz
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Capiz
Ecclesiastical province	Capiz
Statistics
Area	2,663 km2 (1,028 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2019) 865,725 810,386 (93.6%)
Parishes	37
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	27 January 1951 (Diocese) 17 January 1976 (Archdiocese)
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Roxas City
Secular priests	114
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop-designate	Victor B. Bendico
Suffragans	Jose Corazon Tala-oc (Kalibo) Narciso Abellana (Romblon)
Vicar General	Cyril Villareal
Bishops emeritus	Cardinal Jose Advincula (2011-2021)
Map
Jurisdiction of the metropolitan see within the Philippines
Website
Website of the Archdiocese

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capiz is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The archdiocese covers the entire province of Capiz on the island of Panay in the Visayas, central Philippines, and has its see in Roxas City.

Following the installation of Cardinal Jose Advincula as Archbishop of Manila, Cyril Villareal, Vicar General of the archdiocese, was elected as Archdiocesan Administrator on June 28, 2021.

History

The Diocese of Capiz was carved from the territory of the Archdiocese of Jaro on 27 January 1951, and covered the whole civil provinces of Capiz (which included Aklan until 1956) and Romblon.

Two dioceses were eventually created from its territory: the Diocese of Romblon (19 December 1974) and the Diocese of Kalibo (17 January 1976).

On 17 January 1976, Pope Paul VI elevated the bishopric to the rank of an archdiocese through his Papal Bull Nimium Patens which turned it into an ecclesiastical province. The dioceses of Romblon and Kalibo became its suffragans.

The archdiocese retained the name Capiz since its establishment predates the renaming of the municipality where it sits into Roxas City (11 April 1951).

Coat of Arms

The silver crescent on the blue background symbolizes the Immaculate Conception, titular of the cathedral. The twins (kapid in Visayan) suggest the name of the territory of the diocese, the province of Capiz. The gold background indicates the unique honor accruing to the province from the fact that the highest men in Church and State at the time when the Philippines became a republic were both from Capiz: the Gabriel M. Reyes then-Archbishop of Manila and Manuel Roxas, the first President of the Third Philippine Republic. Hence, the twin at the dexter side holds a patriarchal cross, insignia of an archbishop, while the one at the sinister side holds a sheathed ancient ceremonial sword of command.

Suffragan dioceses

• Diocese of Romblon
• Diocese of Kalibo

• 
  Saint Therese of Avila Parish Church, Roxas City
• 
  Santa Monica Parish Church, Panay
• 
  St. Thomas of Villanova Parish Church, Dao
• 
  Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish Church, Mambusao
• 
  St. Martin of Tours Parish Church, Dumalag

List of Ordinaries

Bishops of Capiz

Name			Period in Office		Coat of Arms
			From	Until
1		Manuel Porcia Yap	February 13, 1951	March 5, 1952
2		Antonio Floro Frondosa	March 5, 1952	January 17, 1976

Archbishops of Capiz

Name			Period in Office		Coat of arms
			From	Until
1		Antonio Floro Frondosa	January 17, 1976	June 18, 1986
2		Onesimo Cadiz Gordoncillo	June 18, 1986	November 9, 2011
3		Jose Fuerte Advincula	November 9, 2011	June 24, 2021
Sede Vacante - Archdiocesan Administrator		Cyril B. Villareal	June 28, 2021	Present
4		Victor Barnuevo Bendico

Affiliated bishops

• Gabriel M. Reyes, parish priest of Capiz (1918-1920); archbishop of Cebu (1934-1949); Archbishop of Manila (1949-1952)
• Jaime Sin, first rector of St. Pius X Seminary (1957-1967); archbishop of Jaro (1972-1974); archbishop of Manila (1974-2003)
• Warlito I. Cajandig, appointed vicar apostolic of Calapan in 1989
• Vicente Navarra, first bishop of Kabankalan (1987-2001); bishop of Bacolod (2001-2016)
• Victor B. Bendico, appointed bishop of Baguio in 2017
• Midyphil Billones, appointed auxiliary bishop of Cebu in 2019
• Jose Advincula, bishop of San Carlos (2001-2011); archbishop of Capiz (2011–2021); appointed archbishop of Manila in 2021

Administered Schools

• St. Pius X Seminary (Roxas City)
• Sancta Maria, Mater et Regina, Seminarium (Roxas City)
• Colegio De La Purisima Concepcion

See also

• Christianity in the Philippines
• List of Catholic dioceses in the Philippines
• Panay Church

References

• Catholic Hierarchy
• CBCP