The Roman Catholic Diocese of Naval
The Diocese of Naval is among the newest dioceses
in the Philippines today. It was created on November 29, 1988,
sliced off the mother diocese of Palo in the province of Leyte. It
comprises the entire island of Biliran and four municipalities at the
northwestern tip of the island of Leyte. It is a suffragan of the
Archdiocese of Palo.
The island of Biliran is a sub-province of Leyte,
situated off its northwestern coast, bounded on the north and
northeast by the Samar Sea, on the west by the Visayan Sea, and
on the south by Casiguran Bay. The island is characterized by
rolling hills, and its town-parishes along the shorelines are forever
bathed by the sapphire-bluewaters of the surrounding seas.
In historical significance, the sub-province of Biliran
shares much with the island province of Leyte and Samar: the
landing of the first Spanish expedition of Magellan in 1521; the
early Christianization by the Augustinians and the
Franciscans; and the landing of General Douglas MacArthur to
fulfill his pledge to return to the Philippines.
Some of the parishes in Leyte, including those of
Biliran, were founded almost two centuries ago. That of the town
of Leyte was established in 1800, Biliran in 1828, Naval itself in
1843. These were all taken over by the diocesan clergy when the
Spanish priests had to leave the country during the Philippine
Revolution of 1896.
Ecclesiastically, Leyte was originally under the
jurisdiction of Cebu until 1910. From 1910 to 1937 it fell under the
jurisdiction of the diocese of Calbayog (Samar). In 1937 Leyte was
separated into the new Diocese of Palo. And in 1988, Naval was
separated from the now Archdiocese of Palo, whose population
had grown to over a million and a half.
In September 1990, the Bishop of Naval, the Most
Rev. Filomeno G. Bactol, D.D., invited Brother Stephen M. Greinke
to begin a new Community of Brothers called The Society of The
Missionary Brothers of Perpetual Help. On August 1, 1991, the San
Alfonso Monastery was erected and established. It’s Mission is to
serve the poor and most abandoned in the newly created Diocese
of Naval.
Today the Diocese of Naval covers a land area of
1,170 square kilometers, with a population of 218,708 of which 92
per cent are Catholics. It consists of 3 vicariates, 13 parishes
manned by 24 priests and 1 deacon under 1 bishop.
The programs and services implemented in the parishes
of the diocese are in continuance of those of the Archdiocese of
Palo. These programs are geared toward the formation of Basic
Ecclesial Communities, with the decrees and statutes of the
Second Plenary Council of the Philippines as implementing
guidelines.
The Society of The Missionary Brothers of Perpetual Help,
continue to serve God, and the poor in the Diocese of Naval.
