Territorial Prelature of Infanta Praelatura Territorialis Infantensis Prelatura Teritoryal ng Infanta | |
|---|---|
| Catholic | |
 Infanta Cathedral | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Territory | NorthernQuezon (Burdeos,General Nakar,Infanta,Jomalig,Panukulan,Patnanungan,Polillo,Real),Aurora |
| Ecclesiastical province | Lipa |
| Metropolitan | Lipa |
| Coordinates | 14°44′50″N121°38′59″E / 14.74717°N 121.64965°E /14.74717; 121.64965 |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 7,189 km2 (2,776 sq mi) |
Population
|
|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Cathedral | Cathedral-Parish of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague and St. Mark the Evangelist |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Prelate | Dave Dean Capucao |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Gilbert Garcera |
| Bishops emeritus | Bernardino Cortez |
TheTerritorial Prelature of Infanta (Latin:Praelatura Territorialis Infantensis) is aLatin Catholicterritorial prelature located in the municipality ofInfanta, Quezon, in theecclesiastical province ofLipa in the Philippines.
It was established on April 25, 1950 by thepapal bull "Precibus annuentes" taking a portion of the then-Diocese of Lipa. In 1953, some municipalities in the civil province ofIsabela were added onto it. However, it was taken again by the Diocese of Tuguegarao on August 16, 1955. Originally, the prelature was a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Manila but was transferred to the Ecclesiastical Province of Lipa on June 20, 1972.[2]
The two main divisions of the prelature is based on the two geographical units that comprises it: the province of Quezon and the province of Aurora. Furthermore, it is governed by the prelate through four vicariates that covers (1) the parishes of Real, Infanta, and Nakar, (2) the parishes of the Polillo Islands, (3) parishes within Central Aurora province, and (4) parishes in the span of Northern Aurora.[3]
The prelature was erected by Pius XII on April 25, 1950 carving it from the Diocese of Lipa. Its territory included the islands ofPolillo and the northern part of the province ofQuezon. At this time, the province ofAurora is a sub-province of Quezon.[4] The boundaries of the prelature was defined to reach theDiocese of Tuguegarao to the north; to the west,Nueva Vizcaya,Nueva Ecija,Bulacan, andRizal; thePacific Ocean is the eastern boundary; while the common boundaries of Infanta andMauban is in the south.[5]
Upon the erection of the See of Infanta, BishopRufino Jiao Santos (later Archbishop of Manila and a cardinal) was appointed Apostolic Administrator.[4] A year later, on July 11, 1951, Rev. Fr. Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD, Vicar Provincial of theOrder of Discalced Carmelites in the Philippine Islands, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Prelature of Infanta.[6]
The Prelature of Infanta was first administered as a mission of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. Its apostolic administrators and bishops were members of the religious order until 2015. These include Bishop Patrick Shanley, OCD, Fr. Joseph Flanery, OCD, Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD, and Bishop Rolando Tirona, OCD.[3]
| Bishop | Period in office | Notes | Coat of Arms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick (Harmon) Shanley of Saint Cecelia, OCD | March 17, 1953 – September 12, 1960 (7 years, 179 days) | Resigned |  | |
| 2. | .jpg) | Julio Xavier Lizares Labayen, OCD | September 12, 1966 – June 28, 2003 (36 years, 289 days) | Retired |  |
| 3 |  | Rolando Joven Tria Tirona, OCD | August 27, 2003 – September 8, 2012 (9 years, 12 days) | AppointedArchbishop of Caceres | .svg) |
| 4 | .JPG) | Bernardino Cruz Cortez | January 23, 2015 – May 16, 2025 (9 years, 12 days) | Retired |  |
| 5 | Dave Dean Capucao | September 5, 2025 – present (164 days) |  | ||
Vicariate of Infant Jesus and Saint Mark
Vicariate of Saint Joseph
Vicariate of San Luis Obispo
Vicariate of Saint Anthony of Padua
Media related toRoman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Infanta at Wikimedia CommonsPraelatura Territorialis Infantensis | |||||||||
| Territories |
|  | |||||||
| Ordinaries |
| ||||||||
| Cathedral |
| ||||||||
| Parishes |
| ||||||||
For the complete list of Roman Catholic churches in Quezon, see theRoman Catholic Diocese of Lucena andRoman Catholic Diocese of Gumaca | |||||||||
