07/09/2026
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CACERES
An Archidiocesis kan Caceres enot na pinundar bilang Diocesis (Diocese) kan Agosto 14, 1595. Kasabay kan pag establisir kan diocese, itinogdok an orihinal na cathedral na gibo sa kahoy, nipa asin magkapirang gapo sa lugar na kinamumugtakan na ngonian kan Naga City Public Market na sakop kan Barangay Sabang. Nagkaigwa nin linog. Asin d***s na haros mapara an simbahan dahil sa dakulang kasulo kan 1768. Kan taon 1808 hasta 1843, sa pamamayo ni Obispo Bernardo de la Concepcion ibinalyo an simbahan sa presenteng lugar kaini sa pueblo kan Sta. Cruz.
An Diocese nagin Archdiocese kan Junio 29, 1951, sa kontemporaryong panahon.
As Archdiocese of Caceres ini nagseserbi bilang Metropolitan See kan enterong Rehiyon Bicol na kumponido kan anom (6) pang suffragan dioceses na iyo an mga minasunod:
• Diocese of Legazpi (covering the province of Albay)
• Diocese of Sorsogon (covering the province of Sorsogon)
• Diocese of Daet (covering the province of Camarines Norte)
• Diocese of Masbate (covering the island province of Masbate)
• Diocese of Virac (covering the island province of Catanduanes)
• Diocese of Libmanan (dating Prelature, covering the first and second congressional districts of Camarines Sur)
Mantang nagsasakop kan enterong eccleasistical territory kan rehiyon, an archidioceses mismo na nakabase sa Naga iyo man an direktang nagmamaneho kan saiyang core territory na kumponido kan 3rd, 4th, and 5th congressional districts kan Camarines Sur, kabale an syudades kan Naga asin Iriga.
WHAT IS IRONIC NOW (if I may say so) is that while the original Diocese of Caceres (then referred to as Ecclesia Cacerensis in Indiis Orientalibus) had an immense jurisdiction (based on a Papal Bull), its present territorial coverage bilang Archdiocese saka man lugod nagsadit. Dati, sa panahon kan mga Kastila, sakop kan Diocese an enterong eastern asin southern regions kan Luzon, including their surrounding islands. An mga ini iyo an mga minasunod:
• The Entire Bicol Peninsula: an Ambos Camarines (which later became Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur) asin Albay (which then included Sorsogon);
• The Bicol Island Provinces: an mga isla kan Catanduanes, Masbate, Ticao, asin Burias;
• The Tayabas Province: na minasakop kan Tayabas (modern-day Quezon province) as far inland as Lucban.
• The Counter-Coast (Contracosta): The Diocese’s jurisdiction stretched along the eastern coast of Luzon from Mauban all the way north to Binangonan (Infanta), Polo (Polillo Island), Baler, and Casiguran (areas that today make up northern Quezon and the entire province of Aurora).
An sabi ngani kaiyan: At its largest, the Diocese of Caceres’ borders moved all the way north until they met the boundaries of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia (in Northern Luzon) and the Archdiocese of Manila.
From then Bishop Pedro Santos who consequently served as the first Archbishop in 1951, the Archdiocese is presently headed by Archbishop Rex Andrew C. Alarcon since his installation in 2024. The three others before him were Archbishops Alberto(+), Legaspi (+), and Tirona.
