Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac

Diocese of Tarlac Dioecesis Tarlacensis Diocesis ning Tarlac Diocesis ti Tarlac Diyosesis ng Tarlac Diócesis de Tarlac
Catholic
Tarlac Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Tarlac
Ecclesiastical province	San Fernando
Metropolitan	San Fernando
Coordinates	15°29′15″N120°35′18″E / 15.48761°N 120.58828°E / 15.48761; 120.58828
Statistics
Area	3,053 km2 (1,179 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2021) 1,503,456 1,202,764 [1]  (80%)
Parishes	70
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	February 16, 1963
Cathedral	Cathedral-Parish of St. Sebastian
Patron saint	Sebastian
Secular priests	105
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Roberto Calara Mallari
Metropolitan Archbishop	Florentino Lavarias
Vicar General	O'neal M. Sanchez
Bishops emeritus	Florentino Ferrer Cinense
Website
Diocese of Tarlac
Statistics from Catholic-Hierarchy.org

The Diocese of Tarlac (Latin : Dioecesis Tarlacensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese comprising the whole civil province of Tarlac (except Camp Servillano Aquino in San Miguel, Tarlac City, which belongs to the Military Ordinariate) in the Philippines. The see is the Saint Sebastian Cathedral in Tarlac City. ^[2]

History

On February 16, 1963, the Diocese of Tarlac was created from territories from both the Diocese of San Fernando and the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. It is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of San Fernando, Pampanga. ^[3]

Enrique V. Macaraeg, Tarlac's third bishop was appointed bishop by Pope Francis on March 31, 2016. He was ordained on May 24, 2016, and installed on May 31, 2016. Macaraeg died in office on October 23, 2023 due to cardiac arrest, which left the diocese vacant for more than a year. ^[4]

On December 29, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Roberto Mallari, then bishop of San Jose, as the fourth Bishop of Tarlac. ^[5] He was canonically installed at the Tarlac Cathedral on March 27, 2025. ^[6]

Ordinaries

Bishops of the Diocese of Tarlac

No.	Portrait	Name	Coat of Arms	From	Until	Duration	Notes
1		Jesus Juan A. Sison 1918–2004		8 Mar 1963	21 Jan 1988	24 years, 10 months, 13 days	First bishop of Tarlac; retired.
2		Florentino F. Cinense 1938–		21 Jan 1988	31 Mar 2016	28 years, 2 months, 10 days	Retired.
3		Enrique d.V. Macaraeg 1955–2023		31 Mar 2016	23 Oct 2023	7 years, 6 months, 23 days	Died in office.
4		Roberto C. Mallari 1958–		29 Dec 2024	Incumbent	ongoing	Current bishop of Tarlac.

Coadjutor Bishop

No.	Portrait	Name	From	Until	Duration	Notes
1		Florentino F. Cinense 1938–	17 Aug 1985	21 Jan 1988	2 years, 5 months, 4 days	Succeeded as Bishop of Tarlac.

See also

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

References

1. "Tarlac (Catholic Diocese)". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
2. "Jurisdictions - Diocese of Tarlac" Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine . CBCP Online. Retrieved on 2014-12-14.
3. "Jurisdictions - Diocese of Tarlac" Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine . CBCP Online. Retrieved on 2014-12-14.
4. Lopez, Rommel F. (October 24, 2023). "Tarlac bishop dies of cardiac arrest". The Philippine Star . Retrieved October 25, 2023.
5. CBCP News (December 29, 2024). "Pope Francis names new Tarlac bishop". Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
6. Dequia, Norman (January 13, 2025). "Canonical installation ni Bishop Mallari, pangungunahan ng Papal Nuncio" [Canonical installation by Papal Nuncio]. Radio Veritas . Retrieved January 31, 2025.

External links

• Media related to Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac at Wikimedia Commons
• Dioecesis Tarlacensis Catholic-Hierarchy.org