Diocese of Naval
The Diocese of Naval is a diocese of the Roman Rite of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Its cathedral is in Naval, Biliran in the Eastern Visayas. Its territory includes the whole island of Biliran and the four towns at the northwestern tip of Leyte Province.
Erected in 1988, the diocese was created from territory of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo, to which the diocese remains a suffragan. The first appointed bishop was Filomeno Bactol. On October 13, 2017, his retirement was accepted by the Pope two years after reaching the mandatory age of 75. Pope Francis appointed Rex Cullingham Ramirez, a priest from the Archdiocese of Palo, as the new Bishop of Naval. His episcopal ordination took place at the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral on January 9, 2018. He was canonically installed on January 12, 2018, at Naval Cathedral. Ramirez is the second bishop of the diocese.
The Cathedral School of La Naval was established in 1990 AD. It is the first Catholic school in the diocese.
Marvyn Maceda, the Bishop of San Jose de Antique, grew up in the Naval diocese and was a priest of the diocese before becoming the bishop of San Jose.