Diocese of Balanga
Balangen(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Balanga, Philippines
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 share
- 96.9%
- Priests
- 62
- Catholics per priest
- 13,929
- Extent
- 1,373 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 629
of the people living within its bounds
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:
- Archdiocese of San FernandoSan Fernando
- Diocese of TarlacTarlac
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.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].