Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Infanta

Territorial Prelature of Infanta Praelatura Territorialis Infantensis Prelatura Teritoryal ng Infanta
Catholic
Infanta Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Northern Quezon Province (Burdeos, General Nakar, Infanta, Jomalig, Panukulan, Patnanungan, Polillo, Real), Aurora
Ecclesiastical province	Lipa
Metropolitan	Lipa
Coordinates	14°44′50″N 121°38′59″E
Statistics
Area	7,189 km2 (2,776 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2021) 512,000 414,000 (80.9%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Cathedral-Parish of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague and St. Mark the Evangelist
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Prelate	Bernardino Cruz Cortez
Metropolitan Archbishop	Gilbert Garcera

The Territorial Prelature of Infanta (Latin: Praelatura Territorialis Infantensis) is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature located in the municipality of Infanta, Quezon, in the ecclesiastical province of Lipa in the Philippines.

It was established on April 25, 1950 by the papal bull "Precibus annuentes" taking a portion of the then-Diocese of Lipa. In 1953, some municipalities in the civil province of Isabela was added into it. However, it was taken again by the Diocese of Tuguegarao on August 16, 1955. Originally, the prelature was a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Manila but was transferred to the Ecclesiastical Province of Lipa on June 20, 1972.

The two main divisions of the prelature is based on the two geographical units that comprises it: the province of Quezon and the province of Aurora. Furthermore, it is governed by the prelate through four vicariates that covers (1) the parishes of Real, Infanta, and Nakar, (2) the parishes of the Polillo Group of Islands, (3) parishes within Central Aurora province, and (4) parishes in the span of Northern Aurora.

Erection

The prelature was erected by Pius XII on April 25, 1950 carving it from the Diocese of Lipa. Its territory included the islands of Polillo and the northern part of the province of Quezon. At this time, the province of Aurora is a sub-province of Quezon. The boundaries of the prelature was defined to reach the Diocese of Tuguegarao to the north; to the west, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, and Rizal; the Pacific Ocean is the eastern boundary; while the common boundaries of Infanta and Mauban is in the south.

Upon the erection of the See of Infanta, Bishop Rufino Jiao Santos (later Archbishop of Manila and a cardinal) was appointed Apostolic Administrator. A year later, on July 11, 1951, Rev. Fr. Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD, Vicar Provincial of the Order of Discalced Carmelites in the Philippine Islands, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Prelature of Infanta.

Prelates

Former Coat of arms of Prelature of InfantaBishop Mariano Madriaga blazoned the arms with this:

"On chief, red, a daisy. On a silver fess a blue lozenge with the gold fleur-de-lys of the Bourbon dynasty. At base a seascape with a coconut tree from a green knoll on the dexter side. "The daisy is the symbol of the innocence of the Holy Child, the new titular of the principal church of the prelature after it was rebuilt almost entirely. Its former patron saint was St. Mark the Evangelist, now the secondary patron saint of the prelature. "Infanta" was the official title of the Royal Princess of Spain. The lozenge-form of the Bourbon arms may have been used by the Infanta of Spain in whose honor the town (now the seat of the prelature) was named because the heraldic shield for ladies is lozenge-formed. The seascapewith the coconut tree on a knoll symbolizes the coconut-clad province which is the territory of the prelature."

The Prelature of Infanta was first administered as a mission of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. Its apostolic administrators and bishops were members of the religious order until 2015. These include Bishop Patrick Shanley, OCD, Fr. Joseph Flanery, OCD, Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD, and Bishop Rolando Tirona, OCD.

Name	Office	In office	Coat of Arms
Most Rev. Rufino Jiao Santos, DD	Apostolic Administrator	September 5, 1950 to July 10, 1951
Rev. Fr. Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD	Apostolic Administrator	July 11, 1951 to February 16, 1953
Most Rev. Patrick Harmon Shanley, OCD, DD†	Prelate	February 17,1953 to September 12, 1960
Rev. Fr. Joseph Flannery, OCD	Apostolic Administrator	September 12, 1960 to June 22, 1961
Rev. Fr. Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD	Apostolic Administrator	June 23, 1961 to July 25, 1966
Most Rev. Julio Xavier Labayen, OCD, DD†	Prelate	July 26,1966 to June 28, 2003
Most Rev. Rolando Octavus Joven Tria Tirona, OCD, DD	Prelate	June 28, 2003 to September 8, 2012
Most Rev. Bernardino Cruz Cortez, DD	Prelate	January 23, 2015 to present

Parishes

Vicariate of Infant Jesus and Saint Mark

• Divine Infant Jesus of Prague and Saint Mark Parish (Infanta Cathedral), Infanta, Quezon
• Saints Anne and Joachim Parish, General Nakar, Quezon
• Saint Rafael the Archangel Parish, Real, Quezon
• Saint Joseph Quasi-Parish, Barangay Llavac, Real, Quezon

Vicariate of Saint Joseph

• Prelature Shrine of Saint Joseph, Polillo, Quezon
• Saint Rafael Parish, Burdeos, Quezon
• Saint John the Baptist Parish, Panukulan, Quezon
• Saint Isidore Parish, Patnanungan, Quezon
• Nuestra Señora dela Salvacion Parish, Jomalig, Quezon

Vicariate of San Luis Obipso

• San Luis Obispo Parish, Baler, Aurora
• San Luis Rey Parish, San Luis, Aurora
• Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish, Maria Aurora, Aurora
• Maria, Ina ng Sambayanan ng mga Dukha Parish, Quirino, Maria Aurora
• Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish, Dipaculao, Aurora
• Saint Patrick Parish, Dingalan, Aurora

Vicariate of Saint Anthony of Padua

• Saint Anthony de Padua Parish, Casiguran, Aurora
• Saint Isidore the Farmer Parish, Dinalungan, Aurora
• Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Dilasag, Aurora
• Nuestra Señora dela Salvacion Parish, Casiguran, Aurora

Sources

• GCatholic.org
• Catholic Hierarchy
• Prelature website

External links

• Media related to Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Infanta at Wikimedia Commons