Archdiocese of Lipa Archidioecesis Lipensis
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| Catholic | |
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 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Territory | Batangas |
| Ecclesiastical province | Lipa |
| Residence | Archbishop's Residence,Lipa, Batangas |
| Metropolitan | Lipa |
| Deaneries | 14 (List)
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| Coordinates | 13°56′27″N121°09′47″E / 13.9408°N 121.1630°E /13.9408; 121.1630 |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 3,165 km2 (1,222 sq mi) |
Population
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| Parishes | 65 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | April 10, 1910; 115 years ago (1910-04-10) (Diocese) June 20, 1972; 53 years ago (1972-06-20) (Archdiocese) |
| Cathedral | Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Sebastian |
| Patron saint | Joseph the Patriarch (Primary) Our Lady of Caysasay (Titular Queen) Sebastian (Lipa City) |
| Secular priests | 123 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Gilbert Garcera[2] |
| Suffragans | Edwin Panergo (Boac) Euginius Cañete (Gumaca) Mel Rey Uy (Lucena) Dave Capucao (Infanta) |
| Vicar General | Ruben Dimaculangan |
| Judicial Vicar | Wilfredo Rosales |
| Bishops emeritus | Ramon Arguelles |
| Map | |
 Jurisdiction of the metropolitan see within the Philippines. | |
TheArchdiocese of Lipa (Latin:Archidioecesis Lipensis;Filipino:Arsidiyosesis ng Lipa;Spanish:Arquidiócesis de Lipa) is aLatin Church ecclesiastical territory orarchdiocese of theCatholic Church in the Philippines comprising the civil province ofBatangas. Itscathedral is theMetropolitan Cathedral of St. Sebastian located inLipa, Batangas. First created on April 10, 1910 from theArchdiocese of Manila, the diocese was elevated into its present status on June 20, 1972. Today, the Archdiocese of Lipa'secclesiastical province covers Batangas and thesuffragan territories in the civil provinces ofQuezon,Marinduque, andAurora. The archdiocese itself is divided into 14vicariates forane further comprising a total of 65parishes.
In addition, the Archdiocese of Lipa also serves as the de facto overseer of theApostolic Vicariates ofCalapan inOriental Mindoro andSan Jose inOccidental Mindoro, all the exempt dioceses of theHoly See (with the vicariates under the jurisdiction of theDicastery for Evangelization).
The Diocese of Lipa was created on April 10, 1910, separating it from that ofManila under the supervision ofPope Pius X and withGiuseppe Petrelli as its firstbishop. The diocese then covered the provinces ofBatangas,Laguna,Tayabas (nowQuezon,Marinduque, andAurora), andMindoro (nowOccidental Mindoro andOriental Mindoro). There were initially very few priests for the large diocese.
Petrelli invited different Roman Catholicreligious institutes to come to his diocese and help minister to the spiritual needs of the faithful. He also conceived the building of aseminary in the diocese. In June 1914 a diocesan seminary was built inBauan, which was later transferred toSan Pablo in Laguna. This initiative of the first bishop was continued by the next bishop,Alfredo Verzosa, the diocese's first Filipino bishop, who served a long term from 1916 to 1950. He invited priests from theVincentian Fathers to help in the administration of the new seminary.
On July 2, 1936, Mindoro Island was separated and came under the jurisdiction of theApostolic Prefecture of Mindoro, making it the first territorial re-organization of the archdiocese. On March 28, 1950,Lucena became adiocese of its own covering the southern portion of Quezon and Marinduque. About a month later on April 25, thePrelature of Infanta was created, comprising the remaining part of Quezon, including thePolillo Islands and what is now the province of Aurora.
In 1950,Rufino Santos took over the diocese. Described as a financial administrator of great acumen, Santos applied for bank loans to help construct some buildings. This way he continued the construction work of theLipa Cathedral and built a major seminary beside it.
TheRoman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo was separated on November 28, 1966, seated in the city ofSan Pablo and becoming a suffragan ofManila. This left the Diocese of Lipa covering only the province of Batangas.
With the departure of Santos for the Archdiocese of Manila came a young bishop, Alejandro Ayson Olalia, who stayed with the diocese from 1953 to 1973. It was during his term that the Diocese of Lipa, on June 20, 1972, became the country's tenth archdiocese and ecclesiastical province by order of PopePaul VI of the papal bullQui Sumi Nominis. This same order elevated Olalia to the rank of archbishop on August 15, 1972.
Olalia died in 1973 and was replaced by BishopRicardo J. Vidal who stayed with the diocese until 1981. During his incumbency Vidal organized the Pastoral Council, and initiated the construction of the Lipa Archdiocesan Formation Center.
Vidal was replaced in 1981 forCebu's new prelate by his successor Bishop Mariano Garces Gaviola, who stayed with the diocese from 1981 to 1993. He was at the helm of the archdiocese as it celebrated its 75th anniversary and on March 19, 1993, the reins of the archdiocese were again transferred, this time to BishopGaudencio Rosales, a native of Batangas City. He was ordained priest in Lipa in 1958, then he became as Auxiliary Bishop of Manila in 1974, and then he serves as Bishop in theDiocese of Malaybalay in 1982, and on December 30, 1992 he was elected Archbishop of Lipa. Gaudencio Rosales founded the Aral Batangueño and the small giving foundation which is Pondong Batangan.[3]
With the resignation of CardinalJaime Sin in 2003, Rosales was chosen byPope John Paul II to be the Manila's new prelate, leaving the See of Lipa under the apostolic administration of its Auxiliary Bishop Jose Salazar (d. May 30, 2004). On May 14, 2004, Pope John Paul II appointed BishopRamon Arguelles of theMilitary Ordinariate of the Philippines, another native of Batangas City as the fifth Archbishop of Lipa.
In his 13 years in office, Arguelles canonically erected new parishes in Lipa, Lemery, Taysan, Tanauan and Batangas City and organized Marian events such as the annual Taal Lake Marian Regatta and National Days of Prayer in Lipa, both held every September. He is a strong opponent of the passage of RH Law, the operation of motorist lodges in the province, the possible mining activities in the municipality of Lobo, and the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Batangas City. He also led the establishment of a local election watchdog separate from the church-based PPCRV.
On April 10, 2010, theArchdiocese of Lipa celebrated the 100th anniversary of its elevation as a diocese by launching thecoffee table book,A Century of Faith: The Local Church of Lipa. The event was held at the historic Basilica of St. Martin of Tours in Taal, Batangas.[4]
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Arguelles on February 2, 2017, and then appointed BishopGilbert Garcera, the Bishop ofDaet inCamarines Norte as its sixth Archbishop and eighth Local Ordinary.[5]
The cross and arrows are symbols ofSaint Sebastian the Martyr, patron of thecathedral. The two white long-stemmedlilies are symbols ofSaint Joseph, head of theHoly Family, to whom the faithful of the diocese are ardently devoted.[6] The bottom of the shield shows thelake andvolcano ofTaal inBatangas.
The archdiocese has jurisdiction over the Catholic faithful in the province ofBatangas. The province's land area is 3,165 square kilometers (1,222 sq mi) and the population as of the 1994 census is 1,668,480 of which 99.5 per cent areCatholics. The archdiocese also has general supervision over the suffragan dioceses and territorial prelatures for the provinces ofQuezon andMarinduque.
The archdiocese is divided into 14 vicariates, each headed by avicar forane. Except for the parishes in the4th district of Batangas (excludingTaysan) which are run by theOblates of St. Joseph, all other parishes are run by the diocesan clergy. There are 64 parishes in all, served by 291 priests. 123 of them diocesan. There are 331religious brothers and 491religious sisters.[7] There are 23 Catholic schools within the archdiocese, two high school seminaries, and three college seminaries. Two pastoral centers are being maintained.
Theseat of the archbishop is in theMetropolitan Cathedral of St. Sebastian. The archbishop also oversees the suffragan dioceses ofBoac,Gumaca,Lucena,Prelature of Infanta, and also serves as de facto overseer of the apostolic vicariates ofCalapan, andSan Jose.
| Bishop | Period in office | Notes | Coat of Arms | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishops of Lipa (April 10, 1910 – June 20, 1972) | |||||||
| 1 |  | José Petrelli | April 12, 1910 – March 30, 1915 (4 years, 352 days) | Appointed as the fifthApostolic Delegate to the Philippines |  | ||
| 2 | Alfredo Florentin Versoza | September 6, 1916 – February 25, 1951 (34 years, 172 days) | Retired from office |  | |||
| 3 | Alejandro Ayson Olalia | December 28, 1953 – June 20, 1972 (18 years, 175 days) | Later elevated toarchbishop |  | |||
| Archbishops of Lipa (June 20, 1972 – present) | |||||||
| 1 | Alejandro Ayson Olalia | June 20, 1972 – January 2, 1973 (196 days) | Died in office |  | |||
| 2 |  | Ricardo Jamin Vidal | August 22, 1973 – April 13, 1981 (7 years, 234 days) | Later appointedArchbishop of Cebu, and Cardinal |  | ||
| 3 | Mariano Garces Gaviola | April 13, 1981 – December 13, 1992 (11 years, 244 days) | Retired from office |  | |||
| 4 |  | Gaudencio Borbon Rosales | March 19, 1993 – November 21, 2003 (10 years, 247 days) | Later appointedArchbishop of Manila, and Cardinal |  | ||
| 5 |  | Ramon Cabrera Arguelles | July 16, 2004 – April 21, 2017 (12 years, 279 days) | Retired from office |  | ||
| 6 |  | Gilbert Armea Garcera | April 21, 2017 – present (8 years, 302 days) | President of theCatholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines |  | ||
| No. | Picture | Name | Period in office | Titular see | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Ven.Alfredo Maria Aranda Obviar | March 11, 1944 – November 4, 1950 | Linoë | First auxiliary bishop, later appointedBishop of Lucena |
| 2 |  | Salvador Quizon Quizon | June 9, 1971 – April 6, 2002 | Feradi Minus | Retired |
| 3 |  | Buenaventura Malayo Famadico | April 6, 2002 – June 11, 2003 | Urusi | AppointedBishop of Gumaca |
| 4 | | Jose Paala Salazar | June 11, 2003 – May 30, 2004 | Hippo Diarrhytus | Died in office |
| Diocese | Image | Bishop | Period in Office | Coat of Arms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Boac (Marinduque) |  | Edwin O. Panergo | December 2, 2025 – present (77 days) |  |
.svg) | Gumaca (EasternQuezon) |  | Euginius L. Cañete, M.J. | January 4, 2025 – present (1 year, 44 days) |  |
 | Lucena (CentralQuezon) | Mel Rey M. Uy | November 8, 2017 – present (8 years, 101 days) |  | |
 | Infanta (NorthernQuezon,Aurora) | Dave Dean Capucao | September 5, 2025 – present (165 days) |  | |
On August 18, 1995 after much review, and meetings presided over by Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales himself, the archdiocese's vision was conceived:
A people of God called by the Father in Jesus Christ to be communities of totally developed human persons in the world, witnessing to the Kingdom of God by living the Paschal Mystery in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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