MAPA: Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Provinces and Territories in the Philippines
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| A Map of the Roman Catholic archdioceses, suffragan dioceses and prelatures, and apostolic vicariates of the Philippines as of March 2022. (Map by Berniemack Arellano) |
A map of Roman Catholic archdioceses, its suffragan dioceses, apostolic vicariates, and prelatures in the Philippines. The colors correspond to the metropolitan areas of archdioceses and suffragans.
In 2015, the country had more than 80 million Catholics, or 80 percent of the total population, making it the largest denomination in this Asian nation. (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2018, p. 23)
For the Roman Catholic Church, the Canon Law defines these areas with various degrees of hierarchy. The definitions are as follows:
Can. 369 A diocese is a portion of the people of God which is entrusted to a bishop for him to shepherd with the cooperation of the presbyterium, so that, adhering to its pastor and gathered by him in the Holy Spirit through the gospel and the Eucharist, it constitutes a particular church in which the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and operative.
Can. 370 A territorial prelature or territorial abbacy is a certain portion of the people of God which is defined territorially and whose care, due to special circumstances, is entrusted to some prelate or abbot who governs it as its proper pastor just like a diocesan bishop.
Can. 371 §1. An apostolic vicariate or apostolic prefecture is a certain portion of the people of God which has not yet been established as a diocese due to special circumstances and which, to be shepherded, is entrusted to an apostolic vicar or apostolic prefect who governs it in the name of the Supreme Pontiff.
Ecclesiastical provinces are
defined as a basic form of territorial jurisdiction in an area. The Holy See sees
these for promoting common pastoral action, coordination, and foster cooperation
in a particular area. (The Holy See, n.d.)
A metropolitan is headed by an archbishop who presides over a particular ecclesiastical province, The ecclesiastical province is composed of the metropolitan archdiocese along with its suffragan dioceses. Despite being the metropolitan, it has no governing powers over the suffragan dioceses unless if these suffered neglect or abuse.
Map of the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila. (Map by Berniemack Arellano)
A disclaimer though, this map is
for informational and graphical representation of the extent of ecclesiastical
territories. Mapping ecclesiastical territories are a challenge on its own,
since it is in the reservation of the Holy See in demarcating the extent of the
respective territories.
In the map, the “grey areas” found in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao does not connote no presence of the archdiocese of Cotabato and its suffragans, Isabela Prelature, and Jolo Apostolic Vicariate, but rather “minimal presence” due to lack of data on missions and parishes in the area.
For official data on jurisdictions, you may coordinate with the Holy See, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, or the respective archdioceses, dioceses, prelatures, apostolic vicariates, and parishes.
You may zoom in or download the map to get the names (Latinized) of the dioceses.
References
Catholic Dioceses in Republic of the Philippines. (2022). Retrieved from GCatholic.org: http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/country/PH-type.htm#metr
Philippine Statistics Authority. (2018). PHILIPPINES IN FIGURES. Quezon City: Philippine Statistics Authority.
The Holy See. (n.d.). GROUPINGS OF PARTICULAR CHURCHES (Cann. 431 - 459). Retrieved from Code of Canon Law (Book II): https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann431-459_en.html#CHAPTER_I.