The Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral is filled with churchgoers on the first day of the Misa de Gallo in 2020. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Three new dioceses including two in Cebu have been named, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) revealed.
On July 9, 2023, the Catholic bishops gathered for their plenary assembly in Kalibo, Aklan, and agreed on creating three new dioceses in the Philippines.
In the proposal, Cebu will have two new suffragan dioceses which will be Carcar in the south and Danao in the north, while retaining the archdiocese here in Cebu City.
A suffragan archdiocese, according to Wikipedia, is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province
The central part of Cebu which comprises four cities and five municipalities, will be the head archdiocese of the Metropolitan Province of Cebu.
The third proposed diocese, on the other hand, will be in Prosperidad which will cover the entire Agusan del Sur.
According to Archbishop Jose Palma, the new dioceses will enhance the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful while keeping central Cebu as the seat of the archbishop.
This move is the result of the recent celebration of the 500th year of Christianity in the country.
In an interview, a candle vendor in Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu, Angelisa Flores, 53, who is originally from the south of Cebu said that she supports CBCP’s decision of creating new dioceses because they already have existing establishments that can implement such a project.
“I think that (this) is for good and for the benefit of its devotees,” said Juvic Labrador, 41, of Cagayan de Oro City who visited Cebu and dedicated his free time to visiting the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño. | rcg
RELATED STORIES:
Awful truth: Child sex abuse in the Catholic Church
Cebu archdiocese, biggest in PH, to be split into 3
More Catholic dioceses in Cebu soon