Present state of the archbishopric of Manila, and of the bishoprics of Cebú, Jaro, Nueva Cáceres, and Nueva Segovia
In order to feed this flock of six and one-half millions of Catholics, the church of Filipinas relies on one archbishop and four bishops.
The present archbishop of Manila is Don Fray Bernardino Nozaleda, of the Order of St. Dominic, a wise and prudent prelate, who took possession of his see October 29, 1890. This archdiocese has a magnificent cathedral, and possesses a considerable cabildo, which was composed of twenty-four prebends in the time of Spanish domination. The ecclesiastical court has its offices in the archiepiscopal palace. The conciliar seminary is a fine edifice, and is in charge of the fathers of the congregation of St. Vincent de Paul;[2] but it is at present closed, because of the condition of war prevailing in the country. The obras pias of the miter amounted before the revolution to a considerable fund, and are in charge of an administrator. The archbishopric of Manila has 219 parishes, 24 mission parishes, 16 active missions, 259 parish priests or missionaries, and 198 native secular priests for the aid of the parish priests.
Don Fray Martín de García de Alcocer, of the Order of St. Francis, governs the diocese of Cebú. He is a very worthy prelate, and is greatly beloved by all his diocesans. He took possession of his diocese December 11, 1886. There is an old cathedral in Cebú, and another new one was erected when the revolution was begun. That city has, also, a conciliar seminary in charge of the Paulist fathers, and two hospitals subordinate to the miter. The diocese numbers 166 parishes, 15 mission parishes, 32 active missions, 213 parish priests or missionaries, and 125 native clergy.
By the death of Don Fray Leandro Arrué, which happened in 1897, Don Fray Mauricio Ferrero, an ex-provincial of the religious of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects, has just been appointed bishop of Jaro. The bishopric of Jaro possesses a cathedral church, which is also the parish church of the city of Jaro; and it has a court corresponding to it, and a seminary under the management of the Paulist fathers. In the diocese there are 144 parishes, 23 mission parishes, 33 active missions, 200 parish priests or missionaries, and 73 native clergy employed in the parish ministry.
The diocese of Nueva Cáceres has as Bishop Don Fray Arsenio del Campo, of the Order of St. Augustine, who took possession of his see June 3, 1888. Although it, like the dioceses of Cebú, Jaro, and Nueva Segovia, has no cabildo, nevertheless there is a cathedral church in Nueva Cáceres, an ecclesiastical court, a conciliar seminary in charge of the Paulist fathers, and a leper hospital. The bishopric of Nueva Cáceres has 107 parishes, 17 parish missions, 124 parish priests or missionaries, and 148 native priests.
The present bishop of Nueva Segovia is Don Fray José Hevia Campomanes, a religious of the Order of St. Dominic—who is most fluent in the Tagál language, and had been, for many years before, parish priest of Binondo, which parish he enriched with a fine cemetery. He took possession of his see June 19, 1890, but was made a prisoner at the outbreak of the revolution; and he still lies, as these lines are penned, under the heavy chains of captivity, and not always treated as his holy character, his authority, and his personal qualities merit.[3] The diocese of Nueva Segovia has 110 parishes, 26 parish missions, 35 active missions, 171 parish priests or missionaries, and 131 native priests. The ecclesiastical court resides in Vigan, where there is also a cathedral church; and a conciliar seminary which has been, until the present, directed by the religious of St. Augustine.
Condition of the religious corporations
The corporation of calced Augustinian fathers owned, before the revolutionary movement, the magnificent convent and church of San Agustín in Manila, and those of Cebú and Guadalupe, and the orphan asylums of Tambóbong and Mandaloyan; and in España the colleges of Valladolid, Palma de Mallorca, and Santa María de la Vid, with the royal monastery of the Escorial, and the hospitium of Barcelona—besides a mission in China. Its total number of religious was 644.
The corporation of Augustinian Recollect fathers owned (also before the war) in Filipinas their convent and church of Manila, together with those of Cavite, San Sebastián, and Cebú, and the house and estate of Imus; and in España the colleges of Monteagudo, of Marcilla, and of San Millán de la Cogulla—the total number of their religious being 522.