Prelature Of Infanta
It was established on April 25, 1950 by the papal bull "Precibus annuentes" taking a portion of the then-Diocese of Lipa. In 1953, some municipalities in the civil province of Isabela was added into 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.
Erection
The prelature was erected by Pius XII on April 25, 1950 carving it from the Diocese of Lipa. Its territory included the islands of Polillo and the northern part of the province of Quezon. At this time, the province of Aurora is a sub-province of Quezon. The boundaries of the prelature was defined to reach the Diocese of Tuguegarao to the north; to the west, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, and Rizal; the Pacific Ocean is the eastern boundary; while the common boundaries of Infanta and Mauban is in the south.
Upon the erection of the See of Infanta, Bishop Rufino Jiao Santos (later Archbishop of Manila and a cardinal) was appointed Apostolic Administrator. A year later, on July 11, 1951, Rev. Fr. Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD, Vicar Provincial of the Order of Discalced Carmelites in the Philippine Islands, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Prelature of Infanta.
Prelates
"On chief, red, a daisy. On a silver fess a blue lozenge with the gold fleur-de-lys of the Bourbon dynasty. At base a seascape with a coconut tree from a green knoll on the dexter side. "The daisy is the symbol of the innocence of the Holy Child, the new titular of the principal church of the prelature after it was rebuilt almost entirely. Its former patron saint was St. Mark the Evangelist, now the secondary patron saint of the prelature. "Infanta" was the official title of the Royal Princess of Spain. The lozenge-form of the Bourbon arms may have been used by the Infanta of Spain in whose honor the town (now the seat of the prelature) was named because the heraldic shield for ladies is lozenge-formed. The seascapewith the coconut tree on a knoll symbolizes the coconut-clad province which is the territory of the prelature."
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.
| Name | Office | In office | Coat of Arms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Rev. Rufino Jiao Santos, DD | Apostolic Administrator | September 5, 1950 to July 10, 1951 | |
| Rev. Fr. Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD | Apostolic Administrator | July 11, 1951 to February 16, 1953 | |
| Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD, DD† | Prelate | February 17,1953 to September 12, 1960 | 
|
| Fr. Joseph Flannery, OCD | Apostolic Administrator | September 12, 1960 to June 22, 1961 | |
| Fr. Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD | Apostolic Administrator | June 23, 1961 to July 25, 1966 | |
| Most Rev. Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD, DD† | Prelate | July 26,1966 to June 28, 2003 | 
|
| Most Rev. Rolando Octavus Joven Tria Tirona, OCD, DD | Prelate | June 28, 2003 to September 8, 2012 | .svg)
|
| Most Rev. Bernardino Cruz Cortez, DD | Prelate | January 23, 2015 to present | 
|
References
- ^ "Infanta (Catholic Territorial Prelature)". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
- ^ "Infanta (Territorial Prelature) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
- ^ Sacred Consistorial Congregation (August 1950). "Decree of Erection of the Prelature of Infanta". Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas. 24 (266): 514.
- ^ Pius XII (1950). "Precibus annuentes (The Erection of the Prelature of Infanta)" (PDF). Acta Apostolica Sedis. 42: 587–589.
- ^ Sacred Consistorial Congregation (November 1951). "Decree of Appointment of Rev. Fr. Patrick Harman Shanley, OCD as Apostolic Administrator". Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas. 25 (281): 680.
- ^ Madriaga, Mariano (1957). "The Coats-of-Arms of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions in the Philippines". Philippine Studies. 5 (4): 420–430. ISSN 0031-7837.
- ^ "Prelature of Infanta". Claretian Publications. 26 May 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
- ^ "Territorial Prelature of Infanta", UCA News
Sources
External links
Media related to Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Infanta at Wikimedia Commons
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