Diocese of Borongan
The Diocese of Borongan is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Created on October 22, 1960 by Pope John XXIII from territory of the Diocese of Calbayog, the diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Palo.
Structure
Bishop Vicente Reyes was the first diocesan bishop. On June 19, 1965, the island of Samar was politically divided and the province of Eastern Samar was born. Thus the island of Samar has three dioceses: Calbayog for Western Samar, Catarman for Northern Samar and Borongan for Eastern Samar.Eastern Samar has a population of 374,255 of which 97 percent are Catholic. It is subdivided into 1 city and 22 municipalities. It has a land area of 4,470.75 square kilometers. It is bounded on the north by Northern Samar, on the east by the Philippine Sea, on the west by Western Samar and on the south by Leyte Gulf.
The Diocese of Borongan is divided into three regions, each has two vicariates. The episcopal see is Borongan. The diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes since being erected.
Crispin Barrete Varquez was appointed its bishop in 2007.