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Diocese of Balanga

Balangen(sis)

The Diocese of Balanga is a Latin Church diocese covering the entire province of Bataan, Philippines, erected in 1975 and suffragan to San Fernando, Pampanga. Its current bishop is Rufino C. Sescon Jr., installed in 2025.

The see

Rank
Suffragan diocese
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
17 March 1975
Latin
Balangen(sis)
Patron
Saint Joseph
Annuario code
001000799

The see in figures

Catholics
863,610
Population
891,440
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
96.9%
Priests
62
Catholics per priest
13,929
Extent
1,373 km²
Catholics per km²
629

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Bishop
Rufino Coronel Sescon Jr.

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

Cathedral-Shrine Parish of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary stands in Balanga, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of San Fernando

A suffragan of Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

Established by Pope Paul VI on March 17, 1975, the Diocese of Balanga is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines with jurisdiction over the whole province of Bataan. Its territory holds 38 parishes, 6 diocesan shrines, one minor basilica, a chaplaincy, a quasi-parish, a national shrine and chapel, and 4 vicariates.

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Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.