The Territorial Prelature of Batanes (in Latin: Praelatura Territorialis Batanensis) is a Latin Church pre-diocesan, non-missionary jurisdiction of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao[3] on Luzon island in the Philippines.
Territorial Prelature of Batanes Praelatura Territorialis Batanensis Prelatura Teritoryal ng Batanes Prelatura Territorial de Batanes | |
|---|---|
| Catholic | |
.jpg) | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Territory | Batanes |
| Metropolitan | Tuguegarao[1] |
| Coordinates | 20°27′03″N 121°58′10″E / 20.45094°N 121.96950°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 784 km2 (303 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2021) 18,867 17,795[2] (94.3%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Prelate | Danilo B. Ulep |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Ricardo L. Baccay |
The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral is the episcopal seat of the territorial prelate, in Basco, Batanes. The current bishop-prelate is Danilo B. Ulep.
History
editThe prelature was erected on 30 November 1950 as Territorial Prelature of Batanes Islands and Babuyan / Batanen(sis) et Babuyanen(sis) (Latin), on territory split off from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Manila. On 29 June 1951 it became part of the ecclesiastical province of Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. It became suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, its mother see on 21 September 1974. On 6 February 2002 renamed Territorial Prelature of Batanes / Batanen(sis) (Latin adjective).
Coat of arms
editThe silver crescent symbolizes the Immaculate Conception, the titular of the principal church in the prelature. The North Star together with the constellation of the Ursa major denotes that the prelature covers the northern-most part of the Philippines. Cattle is the most important export product of Batanes and Babuyan Islands hence the bull on pasture. The agitated sea symbolizes the dangerous waters between these islands.[4]
Episcopal ordinaries
edit- Prelates of Batanes and the Babuyan Islands
| Ordinary | Period in Office | Coat of Arms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | |
Peregrin de la Fuente Nestar | 2 July 1951 Appointed- 14 May 1966 Death | 
|
| 2. | |
Mario de Leon Baltazar | 18 Nov 1966 Appointed - 1995 Resigned | |
- Prelates of Batanes
| Bishop-Prelates | Period in Office | Coat of Arms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | |
Jose Paala Salazar | 25 Apr 1996 Appointed - 23 Nov 2002 | |
| 2. | |
Camilo Diaz Gregorio | 13 Sept 2003 Appointed - 20 May 2017 Retired | 
|
| 3. | |
Danilo B. Ulep | 20 May 2017 Appointed– Present |
|
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Batanes (Territorial Prelature) [Catholic-Hierarchy]".
- ^ "Batanes (Territorial Prelature)". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- ^ "Batanes (Territorial Prelature) [Catholic-Hierarchy]".
- ^ Madriaga, Mariano (1957). "The Coats-of-Arms of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions in the Philippines: Part II. The Suffragan Sees in the Luzon Area". Philippine Studies. 5 (4): 420–430. JSTOR 42719342. Retrieved 7 June 2021.