Diocese of Butuan

Diocese of Butuan Dioecesis Butuanensis Diyosesis hong Butuan Diyosesis sa Butuan Diyosesis ng Butuan
Catholic
Butuan Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Butuan, Agusan del Norte
Ecclesiastical province	Cagayan de Oro
Metropolitan	Cagayan de Oro
Statistics
Area	3,546.86 km2 (1,369.45 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2021) 691,566 947,044 [1]  (79.4%)
Parishes	31
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	20 March 1967
Cathedral	Cathedral of Saint Joseph
Patron saint	Joseph
Secular priests	87
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Cosme Almedilla
Metropolitan Archbishop	José A. Cabantan
Vicar General	Rev. Msgr. Guy Arnold L. Pineda, VG

The Diocese of Butuan (Lat: Dioecesis Butuanensis) is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

History

The diocese was erected in 1967, through Pope Paul VI, separating from the Diocese of Surigao. The territory of the Diocese of Butuan contained the Province of Agusan del Sur and Agusan del Norte, and Carmelo Dominador Morelos was its first bishop. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.

On October 15, 2024, the new Diocese of Prosperidad was carved out of the Diocese of Butuan. The new diocese comprises the province of Agusan del Sur. Pope Francis appointed Ruben C. Labajo, Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu, as the first ordinary of the new diocese. ^[2]

Coat of arms

Vert, on a bend sinister wavy Azure a lily Argent slipped proper, between two pomegranates Or seeded Gules.

The pomegranates allude to Butuan, a Malayan word meaning "full of seeds". It is also a symbol of the Resurrection of Our Lord. The blue wavy bend sinister represents the Agusan River. The green field symbolizes fertility, a promise, and a hope for material and spiritual progress and prosperity in the Diocese. The lily is the symbol of St. Joseph, the Patron Saint of Butuan and titular of the Diocese of Butuan.

Ordinaries

Bishop		Period in office	Coat of arms
1.	Carmelo D.F. Morelos, DD, JCD, STL, PhL	4 April 1967 – 8 December 1994
2.	Juan de Dios M. Pueblos, DD.	27 November 1995 – 21 October 2017
3.	Cosme Damian R. Almedilla, DD.	25 June 2019 – present

References

1. "Butuan (Catholic Diocese)". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
2. "Pope creates new Philippine diocese, names its first bishop". CBCPNews. 2024-10-15. Retrieved 2024-10-15.

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines
• Butuan

8°56′52″N125°32′35″E / 8.9477°N 125.5430°E / 8.9477; 125.5430