Roman Catholic Diocese of Novaliches

Diocese of Novaliches Diocesis Novalichesensis Diyosesis ng Novaliches
Diocese Logo Diocese Logo
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Quezon City - District 2 and Caloocan City - North
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Manila
Statistics
Area	137.74 km2 (53.18 sq mi)
Population - Total	(as of 2010) 3,070,000
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Rite	Roman
Established	December 7, 2002
Cathedral	Cathedral Shrine of the Good Shepherd
Patron saint	Jesus, the Good Shepherd
Current leadership
Pope	His Holiness Benedict XVI
Bishop	Most Rev. Antonio R. Tobias, DD., JCL.
Metropolitan Archbishop	Luis Antonio G. Tagle
Vicars General	Very Rev. Gerardo Giovanni "Gerry" R. Tapiador, SSL.
Emeritus Bishops	Most Rev. Teodoro C. Bacani, Jr., DD.
Website
www.novalichesdiocese.com

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Novaliches (Latin: Dioecesis Novalichesensis) is a Diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

Vision-Mission Statement

Vision

We, the local Church of Novaliches, are a Christ-centered community of disciples, responding to the needs of the people, journeying with the Blessed Virgin Mary towards the newness and fullness of life.

Mission

• promote renewed and integral evangelization
• empower the laity and form servant leaders
• commune with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized, and work for their upliftment through building and developing Basic Ecclesial Communities towards total human development and social transformation.

Schools

• Blessed Sacrament Catholic School
• Colegio de San Bartolome de Novaliches
• Good Shepherd Cathedral School
• Ina ng Buhay Catholic School
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School
• Pagkabuhay Parochial School
• San Isidro Labrador Catholic School
• St. Francis Xavier Catholic School

History

The diocese was established on December 7, 2002, and was canonically erected on January 16, 2003 from its ecclesiastical province, the Archdiocese of Manila, by Blessed Pope John Paul II. Its territorial jurisdiction includes the Northern portions of the cities of Quezon and Caloocan. The seat of the diocese, which is dedicated to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is located at Regalado Avenue Extension, Fairview, Novaliches, Quezon City.

Statistics

As of December 31, 2005, there were 1,899,316 people in the diocese. Some 63 percent or 1.2 million are Catholics. As of April 30, 2006, there were 40 parishes under diocesan administration and 16 parishes under Religious administration in the diocese. In 2006, there were 1,190 baptisms.

There are about 1.2 million baptized Catholics or 63% of the whole population of the Diocese of Novaliches. Members of other Christian denominations include the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), which is approximately the biggest group among non-Catholics. There are also Muslim Communities within the vicinity of the Diocese.

Clergy

• Diocesan priests

with assignment: 35 ; without assignment: 6

• Religious priests with assignment:

Filipinos: 46 ; Foreigners: 14 ; Guest Priests: 12

Lay Missionaries and Catechists

• 320 (62 - salaried, 260 - volunteers)

Seminaries and Houses of Formation

• 9

Parishes

• As of April 2006, there are 40 parishes being administered by the Diocesan Clergy and 15 are being administered by the Religious Clergy in the diocese.

Bishop

The current Bishop is The Most Reverend Antonio Realubin Tobias, DD., JCL.. He was born on June 13, 1941 in Ilocos Norte. His parents are Norberto Tobias and Trinidad Realubin. His siblings are Romulo, Loreto, Marita, Ofelia and Manolo. Bishop Tobias was ordained as a priest on December 21, 1965 at the Manila Cathedral. He was also ordained as a bishop on January 25, 1983, while serving as the parish priest in Christ the King Parish Church at Greenmeadows, Quezon City. He has been serving as the bishop of Novaliches, since his appointment on November 25, 2003.

Contact Details

Office of the Bishop

Roman Catholic Diocese of Novaliches

The Cathedral Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd

Regalado Avenue Ext., Fairview, Novaliches, Quezon City

Tel. No.: [phone] or [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Ordinaries

• Antonio R. Tobias (Nov. 25, 2003 [Appointed] - Incumbent)
• Teodoro C. Bacani, Jr. (Dec. 7, 2002 [Appointed] - Nov. 25, 2003 [Resigned])

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines
• The Cathedral Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd