# Pasig Cathedral

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, commonly known as Pasig Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church located in Plaza Rizal, Barangay Malinao, Pasig in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the mother church, and serves as the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Pasig and is one of the oldest structures in the city.
The church was founded as a parish by the Augustinian missionaries on July 2, 1573, coinciding with the foundation of the town of Pasig. Initially, the parish was consecrated to the Visitation of Our Lady, but on April 25, 1587, was changed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of the Augustinian priests during that time.
The parish was administered by the CICM Fathers from 1910 to 1979, after which the Filipino clergy took over the pastoral leadership of the parish. Until 2003, the parish was a part of the Archdiocese of Manila. During the time of Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin, the parish belonged to the Ecclesiastical District of Makati until October 2001, when it became part of the newly created Ecclesiastical District of Pasig. On August 21, 2003, the district was elevated as a separate and independent diocese, with the elevation of the parish into the status of a cathedral. The present parish priest and rector of the cathedral is Mariano L. Baranda.

## History

The Immaculate Conception Parish was initially established as a mission-parish by an Augustinian friar, Alonso de Alvarado, on January 20, 1572, in the village of Pinagbuhatan. However, frequent flooding in the original site prompted the Augustinian priests to relocate it to higher ground, where the cathedral now currently stands.
On July 2, 1573, coinciding with the establishment of the town (now city) of Pasig, the church was consecrated to the Our Lady of the Visitation, which served as the first patroness of Pasig. The town patroness was eventually changed into the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception on April 25, 1587.
During the brief British occupation of Manila in 1762 to 1764, the church served as the British military headquarters, its belfry used as a watchtower against the Spanish defenders.
After the Augustinians, the CICM missionaries arrived and began the administration of the parish in 1910. Three years later, the congregation founded the first parochial school for boys (present-day Pasig Catholic College). In 1979, the diocesan clergy from the Archdiocese of Manila took over the supervision of the parish, and Manuel Sobreviñas, then auxiliary bishop of Manila, became the first Filipino parish priest. Assisting him as parochial administrator was Andres Desmet.
In 1993, Sobreviñas became the bishop of the Diocese of Imus. Emmanuel Sunga became the new pastor, and was transferred to Santo Niño Parish in Tondo, Manila four years later. Manuel Gabriel came to Pasig in 1997 from the Most Holy Trinity Parish in Balic-balic, Sampaloc, Manila, and it was during his term that the parish had electronic chromatically tuned carillon bells installed in its belfry. The Immaculate Conception Parish was declared one of the Jubilee churches in the Archdiocese of Manila in the year 2000.
In October 2001, the Ecclesiastical District of Pasig was created, covering the Vicariate of the Immaculate Conception, along with the parishes of Pateros and Taguig. Nestor Cariño served as the only district bishop.
Two years later, Pope John Paul II signed his Papal Bull, Deus Caritas, decreeing the establishment of a new diocese comprising Pasig, Pateros, and Taguig. The parish was designated to be the cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Pasig. Francisco San Diego became the founding bishop of the diocese on August 21, 2003. Gabriel became its first rector. After Gabriel resigned some weeks after, San Diego named the Vicar-General, Rodolfo Gallardo, as the new rector of the cathedral. Gallardo was installed rector. During his short stint as rector, he mobilized the church's PPCRV awareness campaign for the May 2004 national presidential elections and started the Simbamahalaan encounter between parish lay leaders and LGU leaders and workers of Pasig Hall. Upon his retirement in February 2005, San Diego took over as acting parish priest and rector.
In June 2005, Roy Rosales was named fourth rector of the cathedral. He spearheaded the restoration of most of the cathedral's artifacts, like the image of Our Lady of the Apocalypse, the baptistery, the cathedral facade, the processional image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the retablos and the original image of the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of Pasig. It was also through the efforts of Rosales that the Immaculate Conception Cathedral-Parish witnessed the Solemn Canonical Coronation of its patron as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Pasig on December 7, 2008. The celebration was led by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Edward Joseph Adams, the Bishop of Pasig, and the entire faithful in the diocese.
In May 2010, Orlando Cantillon was named fifth rector of the cathedral. In February 2015, Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara named Joselito I. Jopson, parish priest of Santo Rosario de Pasig Parish, as the sixth rector and eighth Filipino parish priest of the cathedral. In February 2021, Mariano L. Baranda was named the new rector and parish priest.
In February 2021, as part of the Celebration of the 500th Year Anniversary of the Arrival of Christianity in the Philippines, the Cathedral-Parish was named as a Jubilee Church in the Diocese of Pasig along with the Diocesan Shrine of St. Martha and Parish of St. Roch in Pateros and the Minor Basilica and Archdiocesan Shrine Parish of St. Anne in Taguig.
On March 25, 2022, the 7 year-long restoration and renovation of the cathedral (including the addition of ceiling paintings) concluded with a grand inauguration and blessing officiated by Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara. The restoration and renovation was done under the Abang Lingkod ni Maria under the supervision of Camarera Mayor Wilfrieda Legaspi. Along with this came the world premiere of 'Fresca Rosa Novella (Fresh New Rose),' an aria for tenor, composed by the youngest member of the Abang Lingkod ni Maria, Gabriel L. Legaspi.

## The statue of La Inmaculada Concepción de Pasig

The cathedral main altar features a beautifully carved statue of the Immaculate Conception. The said statue was carved in the late 1900 as a replacement for the original statue which was destroyed during the Philippine-American War. The statue might have been copied to a painting which was commissioned by Pope Pius X for the golden jubilee of the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Miracles were attributed to the image. One of the known miracles was that when the statue was being restored for her Pontifical Coronation, a choir of angels was heard singing, but only the restorers were present during that time and there were no choir at that time. Due to numerous miracles, the statue was granted a decree of Pontifical coronation with a decree from Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope also blessed the crown when the representatives of the Diocese of Pasig attended the Papal Audience in Rome. The coronation took place on December 7, 2008.

## Ecclesiastical territory

Previously, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral belonged to the Archdiocese of Manila; it became the seat of the Diocese of Pasig in 2003.
The Immaculate Conception Cathedral comprises nine communities divided according to the patron of the chapel in the community:
* Pamayanan ng Nuestra Senora Rosa Mystica
* Pamayanan ng San Jose
* Pamayanan ng San Felipe at Santiago
* Pamayanan ng Our Lady of Fatima
* Pamayanan ng Sta. Rosa de Lima
* Pamayanan ng Sta. Rosa - Sumilang
* Pamayanan ng San Nicolas
* Pamayanan ng Sta. Cruz
* Pamayanan ng San Isidro Labrador at San Roque

## Jurisdiction

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral comprises the following barangays in Pasig:
* Malinao
* San Jose
* Bambang
* Bagong Katipunan
* Santa Rosa
* Sumilang
* San Nicolas
* Santa Cruz
* Kapasigan

## Pastors

Below is the list of Filipino parish priests.
| Name | Years of pastorship | Present assignment |
| Manuel Sobreviñas | 1979 to 1993 | Deceased |
| Emmanuel V. Sunga | 1993 to 1997 | Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Loreto (Sampaloc, Manila) |
| Manuel G. Gabriel | 1997 to 2003 | retired in the Diocese of Parañaque |
| Rodolfo A. Gallardo | 2003 to 2005 | Deceased |
| Francisco C. San Diego | February to June 2005 | deceased |
| Roy M. Rosales | 2005 to 2010 | Parish Priest, Santo Rosario de Pasig Parish Priest Coordinator, Diocesan Commission on the Cultural Heritage of the Church Spiritual Supervisor, Abang Lingkod ni Maria |
| Orlando B. Cantillon | 2010 to 2015 | Rector and Parish Priest, Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anne Vicar-General, Diocese of Pasig Priest Coordinator, Diocesan Council of the Laity Vicar Forane, St. Anne Vicariate |
| Joselito I. Jopson | 2015 to 2021 | Parish Priest, Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish Priest Coordinator, Pasig Diocesan Social Communications Ministry Priest Coordinator, Diocesan Basic Ecclesial Communities Commission |
| Mariano L. Baranda | June 2021 to present | Moderator Curiae, Diocese of Pasig Director, Human Resources Department, Diocese of Pasig Vicar Forane, Immaculate Conception Vicariate |

### Pasig Catholic Cemetery heritage tree

In April 2022, Pasig's 450th founding anniversary, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Roman Romulo, Robert Jaworski Jr. and Pasig Cathedral's Rev. Fr. Roy Rosales, ICC, led the declaration ceremony, including the installation of a historical marker on the 100-year-old acacia as heritage tree in Pasig Catholic Cemetery, A. Luna Street-Caruncho Ave Intersection, F. Antonio, Barangay Malinao, Pasig. It is 8.6 meters by 5 meters, with 533.8 centimetres (210.2 in) circumference and 170 centimetres (67 in) diameter. Planted circa 1722 and 1760, it is a boundary marker of the new and old cemetery under the Belgian priests.

## Gallery

* Cathedral altar and reredos
* Bell tower
* Pediment detail and niche
* Santo Entierro
* Porta Sancta