Catanduanes, officially the Province of Catanduanes, is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the Maqueda Channel. Its capital is Virac, the most populous town in the province. Catanduanes had a population of 271,879 people as of the 2020 census.
The Bicol Region, designated as Region V, is an administrative region of the Philippines. It comprises six provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula : Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon, and two off the shore: Catanduanes and Masbate.
Virac, officially the Municipality of Virac, is a municipality and capital of the province of Catanduanes, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 76,520 people.
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nueva Cáceres is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It is a metropolitan see that comprises the Bicol Region, while directly overseeing the third, fourth, and fifth congressional districts of Camarines Sur, Naga City, Iriga City and the Municipality of Gainza. The archdiocese, having been founded in 1595 in Nueva Cáceres, is also considered one of the oldest dioceses in the Philippines with Cebu, Segovia and Manila, and once had jurisdiction that stretched from Samar in the south and Isabela Province in the north. The seat of the archdiocese is currently located in Naga City, also known as the Queen City of Bicol.
Central Bikol, commonly called Bikol Naga or simply as Bikol, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Bicolanos, primarily in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, second congressional district of Camarines Norte, eastern part of Albay, northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bikol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur. The standard sprachraum form is based on the Canaman dialect.
The Archdiocese of Cebu is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and one of the ecclesiastical provinces of the Catholic Church in the country. It is composed of the entire civil province of Cebu. The jurisdiction, Cebu, is considered as the fount of Christianity in the Far East.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It was erected on 31 January 1970 from territory of the then Roman Catholic Diocese of Tuguegarao and it covers the entire civil Province of Isabela. It is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.
The Diocese of Bayombong is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Its cathedra is in Bayombong Cathedral, in the episcopal see of Bayombong.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maasin is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, comprising the civil province of Southern Leyte and six municipalities from the fifth legislative district of Leyte. Erected in 1968, the diocese was erected from the Archdiocese of Palo. At present, the diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes, and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cebu. The current bishop is Precioso D. Cantillas, appointed in 1998.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tandag is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Butuan is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Virac is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The Diocese of Virac, Catanduanes was established in 1974, from territory in the Diocese of Legazpi and the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Caceres.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sorsogon is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese was established in 1951 by the Archdiocese of Caceres, and in 1968, the diocese was subdivided after the Diocese of Masbate separated. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Caceres.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Masbate is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The seat of the bishop is the Cathedral Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua along Quezon Street, Masbate City.
Saint Anthony of Padua Cathedral, commonly known as Masbate Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church located along Quezon Street in Masbate City, Masbate, Philippines. Founded in 1578 by Spanish missionaries, it is presently the cathedral or seat of the Diocese of Masbate. The present pastor and rector of the cathedral is Rev. Fr. Ely M. Alvarez.
The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the southeastern part of Luzon, the neighboring island-province of Catanduanes, and the island of Burias in Masbate.
José B. Bantolo is a Filipino bishop. He was born on November 12, 1960, in Guisijan, Laua-an, Antique. He was installed as head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Masbate on June 15, 2011, by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto in a Mass concelebrated by Nueva Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi and Cebu Archbishop José S. Palma. Prior to his new post, Bantolo was the Vicar General of the Diocese of San Jose de Antique in Antique province. He succeeds Bishop Joel Z. Baylon as the third bishop of Masbate. Born in Laua-an, Antique, Bantolo was ordained priest in 1986. He became the rector of St. Peter's Seminary in 1988 and president of St. Anthony's College in 2007, both located in Antique.
Bicol Isarog Transport System, Inc. is a Philippine bus company based in Quezon City. Bicol Isarog, along with 6 sister bus lines, operates routes that primarily serves the Bicol Region, as well as Samar Province and Leyte Province.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Bicol Region is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus reached the Bicol Region on March 27, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed in Albay.
Jose Crisologo Sorra was a Filipino Roman Catholic bishop.
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