Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac

The Diocese of Tarlac (Latin: Dioecesis Tarlacensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese comprising the whole civil province of Tarlac (except Camp Servillano Aquino in San Miguel, Tarlac City, which belongs to the Military Ordinariate) in the Philippines. The see is the Saint Sebastian Cathedral in Tarlac City.^[2]

Diocese of Tarlac Dioecesis Tarlacensis Diocesis ning Tarlac Diocesis ti Tarlac Diyosesis ng Tarlac Diócesis de Tarlac
Catholic
Tarlac Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Tarlac
Ecclesiastical province	San Fernando
Metropolitan	San Fernando
Coordinates	15°29′15″N 120°35′18″E
Statistics
Area	3,053 km2 (1,179 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2021) 1,503,456 1,202,764[1] (80%)
Parishes	70
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	February 16, 1963; 62 years ago (February 16, 1963)
Cathedral	Cathedral-Parish of St. Sebastian
Patron saint	Sebastian
Secular priests	105
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Roberto Calara Mallari
Metropolitan Archbishop	Florentino Lavarias
Vicar General	O'neal M. Sanchez
Bishops emeritus	Florentino Ferrer Cinense
Website
Diocese of Tarlac
Statistics from Catholic-Hierarchy.org

History

On February 16, 1963, the Diocese of Tarlac was created from territories from both the Diocese of San Fernando and the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. It is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of San Fernando, Pampanga.^[2]

Enrique V. Macaraeg, Tarlac's third bishop was appointed bishop by Pope Francis on March 31, 2016. He was ordained on May 24, 2016, and installed on May 31, 2016. Macaraeg died in office on October 23, 2023 due to cardiac arrest, which left the diocese vacant for more than a year.^[3]

On December 29, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Roberto Mallari, then bishop of San Jose, as the fourth Bishop of Tarlac.^[4] He was canonically installed at the Tarlac Cathedral on March 27, 2025.^[5]

Ordinaries

No.	Bishop		Period in office	Notes	Coat of arms
1		Jesus Juan Acosta Sison	May 11, 1963 – January 21, 1988 (24 years, 255 days)	Resigned
2		Florentino Ferrer Cinense	January 21, 1988 – March 31, 2016 (28 years, 70 days)	Retired from office
3		Enrique de Vera Macaraeg	May 31, 2016 – October 23, 2023 (7 years, 145 days)	Died in office
4		Roberto Calara Mallari	March 27, 2025 – present (140 days)

Coadjutor Bishop

No.	Bishop		Period in office	Notes
1		Florentino Ferrer Cinense	August 17, 1985 – January 21, 1988 (2 years, 157 days)	Succeeded Bishop Sison in 1988

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines
• List of Catholic dioceses in the Philippines