BRIEF HISTORY AND PROFILE OF THE
 ARCHDIOCESE OF CAGAYAN DE ORO
Msgr. Rey Monsanto, HP, JCD
Vicar General – Chancellor

AREA AND POPULATION

The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro is made up of the civil Province of Misamis Oriental and the paradise Island Province of Camiguin.  One town of Bukidnon (Malitbog) is also part of the Archdiocese. It has a total land Area of 3,799 sq. kms. and a population of around 1,600,820. Of this close to 900,000 or around 87% are Catholics. Most of them are living close to the seashore of both provinces. In the mountains of Misamis Oriental there are some indigenous Filipinos known popularly known as lumad. Among the Christian population, especially in the business centers, there are some believers of Islam or Muslims (many of their children have already been in Cagayan de Oro and studying even in Catholic Institutions).  There are many Chinese who are mostly Buddhists, though many of them, especially those of the younger generation, are Catholics. Many of the young Chinese are studying in a Chinese high school (Kong Hua) administered by the members of the Hijas de Jesus, a female religious institute.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DIOCESE OF CAGAYAN DE ORO

The Americas were discovered for Europe and Christianized ahead of the Philippines.  Thus, when Christianity, Catholicism in particular, was spread and grew in the Philippines it first became a part of the Diocese (later Archdiocese) of Mexico.

Then, Manila, which had become the center of civil and religious activities, was separated from Mexico becoming a Diocese in 1579 (February 6).  The Diocese of Manila included the whole of the Philippines.

In 1595 (August 14) Cebu (together with Nueva Segovia in Northern Luzon and Nueva Caceres in Southern Luzon) was made into a Diocese comprising the Visayas islands, the whole of Mindanao and the Marianas Islands (where in the island of Guam on April 2, 1672, Bl. Pedro Calungsod died a martyr’s death).  It became a suffragan diocese of Manila, which on that same date became an Archdiocese.  When Jaro (in Iloilo) was made a Diocese in 1865 (May 27), it included only the southern parts of Mindanao (Jolo, and the provinces of Zamboanga, Cotabato and Davao).  Thus, Cagayan de Oro and the northern part of Mindanao remained under the Diocese of Cebu.

When Zamboanga was made into a Diocese in 1910 (April 10) it comprised the whole of the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.  Thus, Cagayan de Oro became part of the Diocese of Zamboanga detaching it from Cebu.

The Diocese of Cagayan de Oro was created on January 20 1933 by the Apostolic Constitution “Ad maius religionis”, and canonically erected on July 4, 1933.  It was the second diocese to be established in Mindanao after Zamboanga.  And like Zamboanga it became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cebu in 1934 (April 28) when it was made into an Archdiocese.  It comprised the provinces of Surigao, the Misamis Provinces, the present Agusans, Bukidnon and Lanao: that is, the northern part of Mindanao.

His Excellency, Most Rev. James T. G. Hayes, of the Society of Jesus was appointed Bishop.  He was an Irish-American who loved to be addressed by his Cebuano (actually Spanish) name “Santiago”.  In fact, it was even with this name that he signed the official documents.  People then used to address him as “Kamahalan” instead of “His Excellency”.  He would go down in history as the first and only bishop of the Diocese of Cagayan de Oro.

THE ELEVATION OF CAGAYAN DE ORO INTO AN ARCHDIOCESE

On June 29, 1951 by the Apostolic Constitution “Quo Philippina Respublica” which reorganized the ecclesiastical provinces in the Philippines, together with Nueva Segovia of Ilocos Sur, Caceres of Camarines and Jaro of Iloilo), Cagayan de Oro became the first Archdiocese in Mindanao.  It comprised all the then existing dioceses and prelatures of Mindanao (Surigao, Cotabato, Sulu, Davao, Ozamiz) including Zamboanga, its Mother diocese, which became an archdiocese only in 1958.  Thus, at that time Cagayan de Oro became one of the six Ecclesiastical Provinces in the Philippines and the only one in Mindanao.

Its first Archbishop was His Excellency Most Rev. James T.G. Hayes, S.J. who was the Archbishop until the acceptance of his retirement in 1970.

With the creation of the Archdioceses of Zamboanga (May 19, 1958), Davao (June 29, 1970), Cotabato (November 5, 1979) and Ozamiz (January 24, 1983), the present suffragan dioceses of Cagayan de Oro now are: Malaybalay (Province of Bukidnon), Butuan (Provinces of Agusan Norte and Sur), Surigao (Province of Surigao Norte) and Tandag (Province of Surigao Sur).

The Patron Saint of the Archdiocese is St. Augustine of Hippo whose feast falls on August 28.  The choice of St. Augustine as Patron Saint can perhaps be explained by the fact that the Augustinian Recollects came to Cagayan de Oro in 1624 and worked in earnest for the spread of Christianity.

ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS

The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro has been served up to the present by three Archbishops, namely, Most Rev. James T. G. Hayes, SJ, an Irish-American, who retired in 1970; Most Rev. Patrick H. Cronin, SSC, an Irish Columban, who retired in 1988: and the present Archbishop, Most Rev. Jesus B. Tuquib, the first Filipino diocesan Archbishop, who immediately succeeded the late Archbishop Cronin upon the latter’s retirement.

Besides Archbishop Tuquib, a Boholano diocesan priest who became the first Bishop of Pagadian, who came as a Co-Adjutor with the right of succession in 1984, the Archdiocese also had a number of either Co-Adjutor or Auxilliary Bishops, namely, Most Rev. Teofilo Camomot, a Cebuano diocesan priest, who was Co-Adjutor Archbishop with the right of succession but who resigned before he could succeed or before the retirement of Archbishop Hayes, and who died some years later in a car accident in Cebu; Most Rev. Ireneo Amantillo, CSsR, an Ilonggo Redemptorist who has become  the first Bishop of Tandag; Most Rev. Jesus Dosado, CM, a Cebuano Vincentian priest, who has become the first Archbishop of Ozamiz; Most Rev. Christian Noel, a Cebuano diocesan priest, who has become the first Bishop of Talibon.

PARISHES AND CHAPLAINCIES

The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro is at present made up of 45 parishes and 8 chaplaincies, i.e., communities on the way of becoming full-pledged parishes (40 parishes and 8 chaplaincies in Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon and 5 parishes in Camiguin).  Definitely more parishes will have to be opened in the future especially in the city because of the expanding population of the City due to its rapid economic growth and development attracting many people from all over the country.

The Chinese Catholics especially in the city proper also have their own personal parish, the San Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Community, under the pastoral care of one of our diocesan priests.

PRIESTS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE: DIOCESAN AND RELIGIOUS

There are now 88 diocesan priests incardinated to the archdiocese.  By the end of the celebration of the Golden Jubilee there may be 6 or 7 more.  Most of them are in the parishes but there are also others without a parish maybe because they are either in the seminary or are having diocesan or apostolate tasks. Some are outside the archdiocese either on study-leave, on mission, working in other dioceses, or just on leaves from the ministry, while some are now in retirement.

Most of the diocesan priests have become members of a society of diocesan priests founded by Archbishop Camomot: the Society of St. John Vianney or SSJV.  All the founding fathers, except Fr. Wang, are now dead.

Some religious priests who are now taking care of 3 parishes help the priests in the parishes. 

At present there are 5 male religious congregations in the Archdiocese (Jesuits, Blessed Sacrament Fathers, Sacred Heart Fathers, St. Paul Fathers, Sacred Stigmata Fathers or Stigmatines) and 2 Societies of Apostolic Life (Columbans or SSC and the members of the Mission Society of the Philippines or MSP).

INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE FOR WOMEN

There are at present in the archdiocese, 1 institute of contemplative life (Carmelite nuns), 17 religious institute of active life (Carmelite Missionaries or CM, Canossian Daughters of Charity or FDCC, Daughters of St. Paul or FSP, Hijas de Jesus or FI, Company of Mary or ODN, Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady or OSA, Poor Lady’s Missionaries or OLM, Religious of the Assumption or RA, Religious of the Good Shepherd or RGS, Religious Sisters of Mercy or RSM, Religious of the Virgin Mary or RVM, Siervas de Nuestra Señora de la Paz or SNSP, Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres or SPC, Ursuline Missionaries of the Sacred Heart or UMSC); and 3 Pious associations on the way of becoming religious institutes of diocesan right (Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family or MSHF, Theresian Missionary of Mary or TMM, and Sisters of Social Apostolate or SSA).  (The MSHF and the TMM are outgrowths of the original group founded by Archbishop Camomot and brought by him to Cagayan de Oro: the Daughters of St. Teresa or DST, which group is now based in Cebu.)  The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary or FMM used to have a house here.  And there is 1 lay association, the Teresiana.

The religious sisters are in various fields of apostolate (like running or administering schools, campus ministry, parish work, catechetic, family life, hospital work, running orphanages, taking care of young ladies, and others).

SEMINARIES

There are two seminaries in the Archdiocese: a college seminary and a theology seminary.

The college seminary, named, SAN JOSE DE MINDANAO SEMINARY, is mainly for the seminarians of the Archdiocese, although it continues to receive seminarians from other ecclesiastical jurisdictions.  It has a pre-college year and four years of college.  The seminarians used to study within the seminary but due to lack of personnel and other reasons, they now take their courses in Xavier University – formerly Ateneo de Cagayan – that is owned and run by the Jesuit Fathers.  This college seminary was founded by Archbishop Hayes and opened in 1956.

ST. JOHN VIANNEY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY caters mainly to the seminarians of the Ecclesiastical Province of Cagayan de Oro, although it also accepts seminarians from other ecclesiastical jurisdictions.  It has a Spiritual Pastoral Formation Year and four years of Theology. In consortium with Xavier University it now offers a Masters Degree in Pastoral Theology.  It is run mainly by the Jesuit Fathers though there are now many diocesan priests teaching in the seminary.  The construction of the seminary was begun by Archbishop Cronin and finished by Archbishop Tuquib.

We have been blessed with so many vocations that our seminaries even have to refuse entry to many applicants due to lack of space.

While older priests are products of either Sto. Tomas Central Seminary (Manila), San Jose Seminary (Manila), San Carlos Seminary (Makati or Cebu), or REMASE (Davao), most of the younger clergy are products St. John Vianney Theological Seminary.  Two of those who will soon be ordained priests are products of a seminary in Spain.

LAY RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS/MOVEMENT/COVENANT COMMUNITIES

While we have in the archdiocese the many and varied traditional lay organizations, like the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Women’s League, Legion of Mary, Apostleship of Prayer, Cursillos de Cristiandad, and many others, we have also experienced here the blossoming of many lay groups and what they call now the covenant communities.  Thus, we have, for example, the Christian Family Movement, the Charismatic Movement (in all its many expressions and forms), the Neo-Catechumenate, the many so-called covenant communities, like the Couples for Christ and its many outreaches from the widows to the kids, the Kahayag sa Dios (also with its many outreaches), and many others.  This emergence started after Vatican II.

UNIVERSITY/COLLEGES/SCHOOLS

To respond to the need for catholic education, there is one university (Xavier University – run by the Jesuits); 5 colleges (Lourdes, St. Rita’s, Christ the King, Cathedral School Technology, now St. Mary’s) – all run by the RVM Sisters; and Fatima College in Mambajao, run by the Sisters of Mercy.  Most of the catholic educational institutions were either founded by Archbishop Hayes himself or founded during his time.

There are 18 catholic high schools, most of which are run by Sisters.  A group of Sisters, the Hijas de Jesus, administers the only Chinese school in Cagayan de Oro.

RETREAT CENTERS

There are now 5 retreat centers or houses where people can go for recollections, days of prayer or solitude, or retreats.  The latest of these is the Cardinal Hoffner’s House of Prayer owned by the Archdiocese.

HOSPITALS AND REHABILITATION CENTERS

For the physical, psychological, psychiatric or emotional sickness of people, there are in the archdiocese 1 hospital (Maria Reyna Hospital – founded by Archbishop Hayes and owned by the archdiocese), and 4 rehabilitation centers, the more known of which is the House of Hope of the Archdiocese for the mentally sick.

THE FUTURE

The City of Cagayan de Oro and the Province of Misamis Oriental and the cities and provinces of the suffragan dioceses are experiencing economic boom and many even of the towns are being “urbanized” or “westernized”.  With the influx of people from different places with varied backgrounds and persuasions and the consequent rise of socio-economic-political-spiritual problems, coupled with the thirst of people for God and His saving Word, a very big challenge lies ahead in terms of continuing evangelization and the maintenance of the catholic moral and spiritual life of the faithful.

We pray very fervently that the Archdiocese will rise up to the challenges as she journeys with the whole Church into the Third Millennium bearing in mind the challenge of our Holy Father, John Paul II, in his post-Jubilee Exhortation, “Novo Millennio Ineunte”: “DUC IN ALTUM”.  That is why we have made this the theme of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the elevation of Cagayan de Oro into an Archdiocese.