Diocese of Cabanatuan
The Diocese of Cabanatuan is a Latin Catholic diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese comprises 16 towns of Nueva Ecija including the cities of Cabanatuan, Palayan, and Gapan. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lingayen–Dagupan.
History
On February 16, 1963 Pope John XXIII, issued the apostolic letter "Exterior Ecclesiae" creating the Diocese of Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija separating from the Archdiocese of Lingayen–Dagupan, and then the Diocese of San Fernando. On June 3, 1963 the Diocese of Cabanatuan was canonically erected after that on June 4, 1963 Bishop Mariano Gaviola was ordained and installed as the first bishop of Cabanatuan. The Diocese of Cabanatuan was put under the patronage of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino and the Virgin Mary under the title Divine Shepherdess which is popularly venerated in Gapan every May 1. The seat of the diocese is the St. Nicholas of Tolentino Cathedral in Cabanatuan with a feast day of September 10.The diocese lost territory in 1984 when the Diocese of San Jose in the Northern Part of Nueva Ecija was formed.
The current bishop emeritus of the diocese and Apostolic administrator is Sofronio Aguirre Bancud, S.S.S., D.D. He was appointed as auxiliary bishop on 2004 and installed as bishop on January 25, 2005. He officially retired on December 8, 2024 after he reached his mandatory retirement age of 76.
On December 8, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Prudencio Padilla Andaya, Jr., CICM, D.D., until now the second Apostolic Vicar of Tabuk since April 16, 2003, to be the 6th bishop of this diocese. Bishop Andaya was installed on February 3, 2025 at the Cabanatuan Cathedral.