A Brief History

The original site of the town was a small fishing village somewhere between what are
now the barangays of Bulabog and Capuy. Formerly a part of Bacon Parish, it was
organized into a parish in 1628 by the missionary friars. In 1680, a catastrophic flood
inundated the place and completely destroyed the church including all images of saints
except those of Sts. Peter and Paul. Because of this, a decree was issued by Msgr.
Andres Gonzales then Bishop of Nueva Caceres, giving titularship to these two saints.
This was also the year when the parish church was transferred to its present site. The
original site is now known as BINANUAHAN.
The town became a political unit under the Province of Albay in 1864. When Sorsogon
was declared as a separate province, the town was chosen as the seat of the provincial
Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, also known as Sorsogon Cathedral, is the seat of the
Diocese of Sorsogon. Its most distinguishable feature structure-wise is its dome-shaped
tower, which closely resembles that of St. Peter Basilica in Vatican. It is a landmark that
dominates Sorsogon City's skyline and can easily be spotted from the Rompeolas baywalk.

. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sorsogon(Latin: Dioecesis Sorsogonensis) is a diocese of

the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese was established in
1951 by the Archdiocese of Caceres, and in 1968, the diocese was subdivided after the Diocese
of Masbate separated. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Caceres.

Spanish conquistadores gave Sorsogon its first encounter with Christianity. This was in the year 1569
when Fr. alfonso Jimenez, chaplain of the expedition under Luis Enriquez de Guzman celebrated the first
mass upon landing on the coast of sitio Gibal-ong, barangay Siuton, in the town of Magallanes.
Christianity, however, was formally established in Sorsogon with the planting of the Cross on the shores
of Casiguran town, in 1600, by Franciscan Friars. This was a prelude to the erection of the first church
building dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy rosary, still presently revered as Casiguran’s patroness.
From there, Franciscan missionaries devotedly spread the faith to the other towns. In Bacon, 1617,
Bulusan, 1630 and Donsol in 1668. The other twelve towns followed suit in the course of time. In the
original geographic division, the province of Sorsogon formed part of albay province. It seceded as a
separate province on October 17, 1984. By canonical reckoning the Diocese of Sorsogon was originally
part of the archdiocese of Caceres. When it came into its own as a diocese, it embraced the territory of
Masbate until March 23, 1968 when the Holy See decreed that Masbate be made into a separate
diocese.
At present the Diocese of Sorsogon encompasses the civil territory of the Province of Sorsogon and the
City of Sorsogon.
Sorsogon became a diocese at a time when bishops were still regarded as lords in the hierarchical chain
of a Church steeped in rites and pageantry. They appear before the people in regal attire, deeply
accentuating the barrier that divided the faithful from the clergy and the clergy from the episcopate. The
local Church then was characterized by this visible demarcation when the Most rev. Teopisto V. alberto
was installed on October 7, 1952 as the first Bishop of Sorsogon. Notwithstanding such conditions,
Bishop Alberto underwent the sacrifices and difficulties of establishing a diocese so recently weaned. In
recognition of his efforts, he was elevated as Coadjutor archbishop of the archdiocese of Caceres. His
successor, the Most Rev. Arnulfo S. Arcilla, was installed on December 12, 1959 as the 2nd Bishop of
Sorsogon.