Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa

The Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa is a Latin Church missionary jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church located in the Province of Palawan, Philippines. Its cathedra is within Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the episcopal see of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines. It is not a part of an ecclesiastical province as it is directly exempt to the Holy See, specifically the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, yet for the purpose of apostolic cooperation usually grouped with the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila, along with the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay. The current Vicar Apostolic is Bishop Socrates Calamba Mesiona.

Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa Apostolicus Vicariatus Portus Principis in Philippins Apostolikal na Bikarato i’ang Puerto Princesa Bikaryato Apostoliko ng Puerto Princesa Vicariato Apostólico de Puerto Princesa
Catholic
Puerto Princesa Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	City of Puerto Princesa, Municipality of Cagayancillo and the Southern Palawan's Municipalities, namely: Aborlan, Narra, Palawan, Quezon, Palawan, Rizal, Palawan, Sofronio Española, Brooke's Point, Bataraza, Balabac and Kalayaan, Palawan.
Ecclesiastical province	Immediately subject to the Holy See
Headquarters	Puerto Princesa
Coordinates	9°44′24″N 118°43′50″E
Statistics
Area	8,552 km2 (3,302 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2021) 836,615 536,225 (64.1%)
Parishes	35
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	July 3, 1955 (1955-07-03)
Cathedral	Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Patron saint	Saint Joseph
Secular priests	60
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Vicar Apostolic	Socrates Calamba Mesiona
Vicar General	Jesusinio Panganiban, Jr.
Bishops emeritus	Pedro D. Arigo
Map
Jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa.
Website
cbcponline.net/most-rev-socrates-mesiona/
Source of statistics: Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa

History

The establishment as prefectura apostolica was announced and celebrated on April 10, 1910, a great day among the Recollect priests. In the bull of the founding of Pope Pius X entitled "Novas Erigere Diocese" (Newly established Dioceses) the Prefectura Apostolica de Palawan was mentioned along with the elevated levels of the Dioceses of Lipa, Tuguegarao, Zamboanga and Calbayog. The prefectura apostolica is administered by the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of Faith to the Recollect priests as stated in Protocol No. 837/910 on May 13, 1910, sent by Girolamo Maria Cotti, the prefect, and Luigi Veccia, the secretary.

On July 3, 1955, Rome declared the elevation of the prefectura apostolica to the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan (AVP) by a bull entitled "Ad Christi Regnum" (The Reign of Christ) signed by Pope Pius XII. Bishop Gregorio Espiga and Infante was the first Apostolic Vicar of Palawan. He became bishop on September 10, 1955, in the church of San Sebastian, Manila, as Titular Bishop of Afneo. He formally took office on September 18, 1955.

On March 27, 2002, it was renamed as the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa and lost part of its territory when the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay was established.

Coat of arms

The two lilies represent Saint Joseph, the patron saint whom the founding Augustinian Recollect fathers dedicated the local church of Palawan. The crescent represents the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of the cathedral. The fort actually represents the fort of Cuyo, where the first missionary arrived on August 1622, as well as the other ports in the province of Palawan built by the Augustinian Recollect fathers to protect their mission and their faithful from depredations of the Moros from the south.

List of ordinaries

The early ordinaries were missionary members of the Order of Augustinian Recollects (O.A.R.)

Apostolic prefects of Palawan (1911–1955)

Bishop		Period in office	Status
1.	Fr. Vittoriano Romàn Zárate di S. Giuseppe, O.A.R.	April 21, 1911 – 1938	Died in office
2.	Fr. Leandro Nieto y Bolandier, O.A.R.	November 25, 1938 – 1953	Died in office
3.	Fr. Gregorio Espiga e Infante, O.A.R.	1953 – July 03, 1955	Appointed as the first apostolic vicar of Palawan

Apostolic vicars of Palawan (1955-2002)

Bishop		Period in office	Status
1.	Bishop Gregorio Espiga e Infante, O.A.R.	July 03, 1955 – December 18, 1987	Resigned
2.	Bishop Francisco Capiral San Diego	December 18, 1987 – July 12, 1995	Transferred to San Pablo
3.	Bishop Pedro Arigo	February 23, 1996 – March 27, 2002	Remained as Apostolic vicar

Apostolic vicars of Puerto Princesa

Bishop		Period in office	Coat of arms
1.	Bishop Pedro Arigo	March 27, 2002 – October 28, 2016
2.	Bishop Socrates Mesiona	October 28, 2016 – present

See also

• Roman Catholicism in the Philippines
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in the Philippines
• Catholic Church hierarchy

External links

• Official website
• GCatholic, with incumbent ordinaties list and linking biographies
• Catholic-Hierarchy.org