Roman Catholic Diocese of Iba

Diocese of Iba Dioecesis Ibanae Diyosesis ng Iba Diocesis ti Iba
Catholic
Iba Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Zambales and Olongapo City
Ecclesiastical province	San Fernando
Statistics
Area	3,642 km2 (1,406 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2021) 907,231 725,785 [1]  (80%)
Parishes	23
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	November 15, 1982;42 years ago (1982-11-15)
Cathedral	St. Augustine of Hippo Cathedral-Parish
Patron saint	Augustine of Hippo
Secular priests	41
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Bartolome G. Santos, Jr.
Metropolitan Archbishop	Florentino Lavarias
Vicar General	Rev. Fr. Ernesto C. Raymundo

The Diocese of Iba (Lat: Dioecesis Ibanae) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the province of Zambales and City of Olongapo.

History

On June 12, 1955, a territorial prelature was erected from territory in the dioceses of San Fernando, Pampanga, and of Diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan and was elevated as the Diocese of Iba on November 15, 1982. ^[2] The diocese is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Coat of arms

The transfixed flaming heart is the symbol of Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church, who is the titular of the cathedral. The bezants represent the great wealth found in the Zambales mountains which cover the territory of the diocese. ^[3]

• 
  The original coat of arms as designed by Bishop Mariano Madriaga

Ordinaries

No.	Bishop		Period in office	Notes	Coat of arms
Prelates of Iba (August 20, 1956 – November 15, 1982)
1		Henry Charles Byrne, Missionary Society of St. Columban	November 4, 1956 – November 15, 1982 (26 years, 11 days)	First and only territorial prelate; later became first diocesan bishop
Bishops of Iba (November 15, 1982 – present)
1		Henry Charles Byrne, SSCME	November 15, 1982 – July 16, 1983 (243 days)	Retired days before death
2		Paciano Basilio Ancieto	October 20, 1983 – January 31, 1989 (5 years, 103 days)	Appointed Archbishop of San Fernando
3		Deogracias Soriano Iñiguez Jr.	March 3, 1990 – June 28, 2003 (13 years, 117 days)	Appointed Bishop of Kalookan
4		Florentino Galang Lavarias	September 1 2004 – July 25, 2014 (9 years, 327 days)	Appointed Archbishop of San Fernando
5		Bartolome Gaspar Santos Jr.	May 25, 2018 – present (7 years, 84 days)

Priests from the Diocese of Iba who became bishops

• Daniel O. Presto, 6th Bishop of the Diocese of San Fernando de La Union.
• Teodoro Bacani, 1st Bishop of the Diocese of Novaliches (2003).

See also

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

References

1. "Iba (Catholic Diocese)". gcatholic.org. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
2. "Diocese of Iba". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
3. Madriaga, Mariano (1957). "The Coats-of-Arms of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions in the Philippines: Part II. The Suffragan Sees in the Luzon Area". Philippine Studies. 5 (4): 420–430. JSTOR   42719342 . Retrieved June 7, 2021.

External links

• Media related to Roman Catholic Diocese of Iba at Wikimedia Commons
• Diocese of Iba page on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website
• Diocese of Iba Facebook Page

15°19′34″N119°58′47″E / 15.3262°N 119.9798°E / 15.3262; 119.9798