Military Ordinariate of the Philippines Ordinariatus Militaris Philippinensis Ordinaryato Militar ng Pilipinas | |
|---|---|
| Catholic | |
 Saint Ignatius of Loyola Military Cathedral | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Territory | Extraterritorial to serve the: |
| Ecclesiastical province | Directlysubject to theHoly See |
| Headquarters | AFP Ecumenical Building Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo,Quezon City 1110 |
| Coordinates | 14°36′42″N121°03′31″E / 14.6116478°N 121.0585394°E /14.6116478; 121.0585394 |
| Statistics | |
| Parishes | 75[1] |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | December 8, 1950; 74 years ago (1950-12-08) |
| Cathedral | Saint Ignatius of Loyola Military Cathedral |
| Co-cathedral | Saint Joseph Pro-Cathedral (PNP) Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus (diocesan) |
| Patron saint | Immaculate Conception Ignatius of Loyola John of Capistrano |
| Secular priests | 145 |
| Language | Filipino,Native Philippine regional languages, andEnglish |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Ordinary | Oscar Jaime L. Florencio |
| Vicar General | Msgr. Albert C. Songco |
| Bishops emeritus | Ramón C. Arguelles |
| Website | |
| www | |
| All current statistics are based from updated data taken byCatholic-Hierarchy.org. | |
TheMilitary Ordinariate of the Philippines is aLatin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction ormilitary ordinariate of theCatholic Church in the Philippines[2] serving theArmed Forces of the Philippines, thePhilippine National Police, and thePhilippine Coast Guard.
It has jurisdiction over all military, police, and coast guard personnel, their dependents, and civilian human resources of all branches of the armed forces. Its titular patron is theImmaculate Conception, withIgnatius of Loyola andJohn of Capistrano as secondary patrons.
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The Military Ordinariate of the Philippines was initially erected as a militaryvicariate on December 8, 1950, as per decree byPope Pius XII via the consistoriat decreeAd consulendum.[3] It was accepted by thePhilippine government in a diplomatic agreement, which took effect through the exchange ofNotes Verbal in 1952[3] between then-Foreign SecretaryJoaquin Elizalde and then-Apostolic NuncioEgidio Vagnozzi.[4]Rufino J. Santos, then the Auxiliary Bishop ofManila, took possession of the vicariate and became the first military vicar in Philippine history.
On April 12, 1986,Pope John Paul II promulgated theapostolic constitutionSpirituale militum curæ, which took effect on July 21, 1986. This papal document was unique, as it began a new structure for all military vicariates all over the world, elevating these to the level of ordinariates, thus giving them the same status as territorial dioceses.
The ordinariate has its owncuria and it exercises its pastoral ministry through chaplains assigned to the different branches of services of Filipino uniformed men and women, including theBureau of Jail Management and Penology and theBureau of Fire Protection. The exact number of faithful under said jurisdiction isclassified information, but it is approximately 90% of personnel serving the military and police. The mostly-diocesan clergy of the ordinariate carry officers' ranks and are assigned to different command posts nationwide, regardless of service branch.
The jurisdiction of the Military Ordinariate is described by the following:
Though not bound to any particular geographical area, the military ordinariate has several buildings under its jurisdiction, almost all of which are within military or police instalments. The ordinariate's principal church is the Saint Ignatius Military Cathedral inCamp General Emilio Aguinaldo inQuezon City, while itspro-cathedral for the Police is the Saint Joseph Pro-Cathedral inCamp Rafael Crame (across Camp Aguinaldo on the other side ofEDSA).[citation needed]
The ordinariate also runs theShrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, located nearVillamor Air Base inPasay.[citation needed]
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Priests who wish join the Chaplain Services of the Armed Forces, the National Police, and the Coast Guard are required to fulfil the standard requirements of both the service branch they are entering and the church. The endorsement of the military ordinary is amongst the most important of the ecclesiastical requirements; the ordinary submits the names of applicants for a "call to active duty" (CAD). He gives to chaplains and civilian priests working for the services thecanonical faculties to exercise their spiritual ministry among subjects of the military ordinariate.
Chaplains in active duty are given the initial rank of Captain or its equivalent in other branches of the services. They enjoy the prerogatives and privileges of the rest of the officers belonging to the same grade or rank in the service.
Chaplains in active service who are not incardinated into the military ordinariate may be subject to recall by the bishop of their respective diocese of origin, even without cause. On the other hand, the ordinary may also withdraw his endorsement for cause. The chaplain whose endorsement has thus been withdrawn is to report to their diocesan bishop or religious Superior as soon as possible. Chaplains whose tour of active service is terminated are to return to their respective dioceses or religious orders, or as otherwise advised or directed by their original bishop or Superior.
The military ordinary must be aFilipino-born member of the nation'sCatholic Church hierarchy, and is appointed by theHoly See after consultation with government.[8] The pope freely nominates the military ordinary– normally abishop– or institutes or confirms the candidate legitimately chosen according to thecanon law.[9] He belongs by right to theCatholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and is subject to theCongregation for Bishops.[10]
| Ordinary | Period in Office | Titular See | Coat of Arms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | | Rufino J. Santos† (1908–1973) | December 21, 1950 – September 3, 1973 (23 years, 226 days) | Barca |  |
| 2. | | Mariano G. Gaviola† (1922–1998) | March 2, 1974 – April 13, 1981 (7 years, 42 days) | Girba | |
| 3. | | Pedro G. Magugat, M.S.C.† (1925–1990) | December 9, 1981 – April 22, 1985 (3 years, 134 days) | Scilium | |
| 4. | | Severino M. Pelayo† (1934–1995) | December 19, 1985 – February 26, 1995 (9 years, 69 days) | Bilta | |
| 5. |  | Ramón C. Arguelles (1944–) | August 25, 1995 – May 14, 2004 (8 years, 263 days) | Ros Cré |  |
| 6. |  | Leopoldo S. Tumulak† (1944–2017) | January 15, 2005 – June 17, 2017 (12 years, 153 days) | Lesvi | .svg) |
| 7. | | Oscar Jaime L. Florencio (1966–) | March 2, 2019 – present (6 years, 271 days) | Lestrona | .svg) |
| Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) |
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|---|---|
| Leadership | |
| Army | Reserve Command (RESCOM) |
| Air Force | |
| Navy | |
| Coast Guard | |
| Wars and conflicts | |
