Roman Catholic Diocese of Catarman

The Diocese of Catarman (Lat: Dioecesis Catarmaniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.^[2]

Diocese of Catarman Dioecesis Catarmaniensis Diyosesis han Catarman Diyosesis ng Catarman
Catholic
Catarman Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Northern Samar
Ecclesiastical province	Palo
Statistics
Area	3,498 km2 (1,351 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2021) 666,659 625,384[1] (93.8%)
Parishes	31
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	December 5, 1974; 50 years ago (1974-12-05)
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation
Secular priests	51
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Nolly C. Buco
Metropolitan Archbishop	John F. Du

Erected in 1974, the diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Palo. The Diocese of Catarman has experienced no jurisdictional changes since its establishment.^[2][3]

Nolly Buco, a former auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo, was initially appointed as apostolic administrator by Pope Francis when Bishop Emmanuel Trance retired as bishop of the diocese on December 8, 2023.^[2][3] Trance is from Calinog, Iloilo under the Archdiocese of Jaro.^[4] On October 16, 2024, Pope Francis subsequently appointed him as the third bishop of Catarman;^[5] he was installed on January 15, 2025.

Ordinaries

No.	Bishop		Period in office	Notes	Coat of arms
1		Angel Tec-i Hobayan	March 11, 1975 – March 10, 2005 (29 years, 364 days)	Retired
2		Emmanuel Celeste Trance	March 10, 2005 – December 8, 2023 (18 years, 273 days)	Resigned for health reasons
3		Nolly Camingue Buco	January 15, 2025 – present (211 days)

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines

External links

• Dioecesis Catarmaniensis Catholic-Hierarchy.org