1607 to 1910 the entire island of Mindanao was
under the Diocese of Cebu and Jaro. On April
10, 1910, Pope Pius X created the Diocese of
Zamboanga and gave it jurisdiction over the whole
island of Mindanao, including the adjacent islands
of the Sulu Archipelago and the island of Cagayan
faith first came to Zamboanga in 1635 with the
arrival of the first missionaries, Father Melchor
de Vera and Father Alejandro Lopez, both Jesuits.
The Spanish authorities were always at war with
the Muslims then. Their efforts to subdue
the Muslims always resulted in reprisal raids in
Zamboanga and the Visayan Islands. In
Zamboanga, Fort Pilar, in honor of Our Lady of the
Pillar, was constructed in 1636. Two Jesuits
priests died as martyrs in their efforts to win
the Muslims through diplomacy – Father Francisco
Paliola and Father Alejanrdo Lopez.
January 20, 1933, Pope Pius XI divided the
Mindanao area into two – the whole southern
portion, including the Sulu Archipelago, under the
jurisdiction of Zamboanga, and the northern
portion under the Diocese of Cagayan de Oro.
In 1951, Cagayan de Oro was elevated to an
archdiocese, the first in the island of Mindanao.
And all episcopal jurisdictions in Mindanao and
Sulu, including that of Zamboanga, became
suffragans of this archdiocese.
Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Diocese of Zamboanga was further divided when the
Diocese of Davao was established and separated in
1949; the Prelature of Cotabato in 1950; the
Prelature of Isabela, Basilan, in 1967, and
finally the Prelature of Ipil in 1980.
was raised to an archdiocese on May 15, 1958 by
Pope Pius XII. As an ecclesiastical
province, the Archdiocese of Zamboanga now
comprises the City of Zamboanga and part of the
province of Zamboanga del Sur. As suffragans
it has the Prelature of Ipil, also in Zamboanga
del Sur, the Prelature of Isabela, Basilan, and
the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo. Its titular
patroneses is Our Lady of the Pillar, and its
secondary patron is St. Pius X, Pope.
archdiocese today covers a land area of 1,648
square kilometers and a population of 442,345 of
which 81 per cent are Catholics. The area
covers 20 parishes, served by 49 diocesan and 18
religious priests. There are also 51
religious sisters working in related activities in
Second Plenary Council of the Philippines adopted
the Community of Disciples as the prime model of
the Church, with the special attribute of being a
Church of the Poor. For the church in
Zamboanga, the challenge is to incarnate in the
archdiocese the vision of PCP II.
Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly was held early in
1995 to formalize preparations leading to Second
Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly of Zamboanga in
the Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese of
Zamboanga are 2 colleges, 6 secondary schools, 6
elementary schools, and 8 kindergarten schools.
Charitable and social institutions include a
leprosarium, 5 free clinics, 1 orphanage and 1