Roman Catholic Diocese of Naval

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Naval (Lat: Dioecesis Navaliensis) is a diocese of the Roman Rite of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Its cathedral is in Naval, Biliran in the Eastern Visayas. Its territory includes the whole island of Biliran and the four towns at the northwestern tip of Leyte Province.

Diocese of Naval Dioecesis Navaliensis Diyosesis han Naval Diyosesis sa Naval Diyosesis ng Naval
Catholic
Naval Cathedral, Biliran
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Biliran Leyte (Calubian, Leyte, San Isidro, Tabango)
Ecclesiastical province	Palo
Metropolitan	Palo
Coordinates	11°33′41″N 124°23′42″E
Statistics
Area	1,005 km2 (388 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2021) 410,670 370,734 (90.3%)
Parishes	15
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	29 November 1988
Cathedral	Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, Naval
Patron saint	Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
Secular priests	28
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Rex Cullingham Ramirez
Metropolitan Archbishop	John F. Du
Vicar General	Msgr. Venancio Sosing
Bishops emeritus	Filomeno G. Bactol
Statistics from Catholic-Hierarchy.org

Erected in 1988, the diocese was created from territory of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo, to which the diocese remains a suffragan. The first appointed bishop was Filomeno Bactol (1988–2017). On October 13, 2017, his retirement was accepted by the Pope two years after reaching the mandatory age of 75. Pope Francis appointed Rex Cullingham Ramirez, a priest from Archdiocese of Palo, as the new bishop of Naval. His episcopal ordination took place at the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral on January 9, 2018. He was canonically installed on January 12, 2018 at Naval Cathedral. Ramirez is the second bishop of the diocese.

The Cathedral School of La Naval was established in 1990 AD. It is the first catholic school in the diocese.

Marvyn Abrea Maceda, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose de Antique in the Antique province of the Philippines, grew up in the Naval diocese and was a priest of the diocese before becoming the bishop of San Jose.

Ordinaries

No	Name	In office	Coat of arms
1.	Filomeno Gonzales Bactol	29 November 1988 – 13 October 2017
2.	Rex Cullingham Ramirez	13 October 2017 – present

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines