Cubao Cathedral

Cubao Cathedral (formal title: The Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao), is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. It is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Cubao; built in 1950 by the Society of the Divine Word, and belonged to the order until 1990, when the Archdiocese of Manila took over its administration. In 2003, when the Diocese of Cubao was erected, the parish was elevated into the status of a cathedral. The present rector of the cathedral is Rev. Fr. Dennis S. Soriano, M.A., Lit..

This article is about the church. For for the diocese, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao.
Cubao Cathedral
Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao
Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción de Cubao
Façade of Cubao Cathedral at dusk
Cubao Cathedral
Location in Metro Manila
LocationQuezon City
Country Philippines
DenominationRoman Catholic
WebsiteImmaculate Conception Cathedral
History
Former name(s)Immaculate Conception Parish
StatusCathedral
FoundedJuly 15, 1950 (1950-07-15)
DedicationImmaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
DedicatedDecember 8, 1949
ConsecratedJuly 15, 1950
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeCathedral
StyleItalian-Romanesque
Administration
ParishImmaculate Conception Parish
ArchdioceseManila
DioceseCubao
ProvinceManila
SubdivisionVicariate of the Holy Family
Clergy
ArchbishopSede vacante
Bishop(s)Most. Rev. Honesto F. Ongtioco, D.D.
RectorRev. Fr. Dennis S. Soriano, M.A., Lit.

History

Since 1935, the SVD priests of Christ the King Mission Seminary attended to the pastoral and spiritual needs of a limited farming community around Manga Road in Cubao by first celebrating Mass in a small chapel near the present Cubao roundabout. Fr. Henry Demond, SVD then celebrated Mass in the residence of a certain Carbonell family, before to a quonset mess hall on what are now Spencer and Brooklyn streets. The building was abandoned by the combined US-Philippine Commonwealth Armed Forces.

As with other agrarian communities, farmers tilling the surrounding rice paddies invoked San Isidro Labrador, so the chapel built there was dedicated to him and belonged to Sacred Heart Parish in Kamuníng. While teaching as theology professor at Christ the King Mission Seminary (and later as Prefect of Scholastics), Fr. Ambrosio Manaligod and Ronnie Ganancias consistently lent a helping hand to the pastoral work of the parish especially in the direction of lay organisations.

In 1949, the chapel was re-dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. On 15 July 1950, the community chapel was elevated into a parish, with the first curé being the Argentine Fr. Juan Simón (1950–1954); he was succeeded by the German Fr. Alois Vogel (1954-1956) and Fr. Benito Rixner (1956–1958). For years the parish remained under the administration of the Society of the Divine Word, which was easy due to the proximity of the church to the main residence of the SVD missionaries at Christ the King Mission Seminary.

In 1989, the SVD offered the parish to the Archdiocese of Manila in keeping with the missionary spirit marked out in their constitutions. Official handover took place on Easter Sunday, 1990 with Msgr. Reynaldo Celso as the first diocesan parish priest. Due to an increase in the population of Catholics in Metro Manila, the Archdiocese was gradually partitioned, with the Diocese of Cubao created on 28 August 2003. The parish was selected to be the seat of the new diocese and its bishop, and extensive renovations on the church were carried out soon after.

On December 30, 2014, GMA Network, actor Dingdong Dantes and actress Marian Rivera were married at Cubao Cathedral, where Dantes was christened. Considered one of the most expensive church weddings ever held in the country, attendees included President Benigno S. Aquino III, as well as other politicians and celebrities from the television and film industry.

Ecclesiastical territory

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral once belonged to the Archdiocese of Manila, but is now the seat of the Diocese of Cubao. However, it is currently remains a parish in its own right as a part of the Vicariate of the Holy Family.

Parochial bounds

The parish itself is bounded to the north by a creek running Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. and Ermín García Avenues; to the east by EDSA; to the south by Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue (Santolan Road); and to the southwest by a small portion of Ermitaño Creek, parts of Horseshoe Village, N. Domingo Street and Balete Drive.

Surrounding parishes are Sacred Heart to the north; Nativity of Our Lord and Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the east; and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to the west. To the south is San Juan City, which is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Parish Priests
The north side of the Cathedral's nave.

Below is a list of parish priests, and upon the church's elevation to cathedral in 2003, rectors.

Society of the Divine Word administration

NameYears served
Fr. Juan Simón, SVD1950–1954
Fr. Alois Vogel, SVD1955
Fr. Benito Rixner, SVD1956–1958
Fr. Anselmo Bustos, SVD1959–1962
Fr. José Lazo, SVD1963
Fr. John Sleumer, SVD1964
Fr. Francis Kutscher, SVD1965–1970
Fr. George Harwardt, SVD1971–1979
Fr. Liberato Fernandez, SVD1980–1990
Fr. Chew Bing Ze, SVD1980–1990

Diocesan administration

NameYears serving
Rev. Msgr. Reynaldo Y. Celso, PC1990–2000
Rev. Msgr. Daniel B. Sta. María, PC, MBA2000–2006
Rev. Msgr. Alfonso A. Bugaoan, Jr. PC2006–2009
Rev. Fr. Moises M. Cabrera2009–2012
Rev. Fr. Ariston L. Sison, Jr., STL2012–2018
Rev. Fr. Dennis S. Soriano, M.A., Lit.2018–present

See also

Resources
  • Ecclesiastical Atlas Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao (2010)
  • The 2008–2009 Catholic Directory of the Philippines (published by Claretian Publications for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, June 2008)
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