The Archdiocese of Manila (Latin: Archidioecesis Manilensis; Filipino: Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; Spanish: Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, Makati, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Pasay, Taguig (Embo barangays only), and Quezon City (EDSA Shrine only). Its cathedral is the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, also known as the Manila Cathedral, located in Intramuros, which comprises the old city of Manila. The Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title Immaculate Conception, is the principal patroness of the archdiocese.
The Archdiocese of Manila is the oldest diocese in the Philippines, created in 1579 as a diocese and elevated as a metropolitan archdiocese in 1595. Since its last territorial changes in 2003, the Archdiocese of Manila is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of the same name, which also include seven dioceses encompassing other parts of the National Capital Region (Antipolo (Marikina), Cubao, Kalookan, Novaliches, Parañaque, Malolos (Valenzuela), and Pasig) and four dioceses of its surrounding provinces of Cavite (Diocese of Imus), Rizal (Diocese of Antipolo), Bulacan (Diocese of Malolos), and Laguna (Diocese of San Pablo).
In addition, the archdiocese also serves as the de facto overseer of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, as well as the Apostolic Vicariates of Puerto Princesa and Taytay in Palawan, all exempt dioceses of the Holy See (with the vicariates under the jurisdiction of the Dicastery for Evangelization).
The archdiocese also owns, operates, and manages institutions, assets, and properties outside its own territorial jurisdiction and located on territories of various dioceses: Mt. Peace and St. Michael Retreat Houses in the dioceses of Baguio and Antipolo, Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary Manila in the diocese of Parañaque, the radio station DZRV Radio Veritas 846 kHz and Our Lady of Veritas Chapel in the diocese of Cubao, and Radio Veritas transmitter in the diocese of Malolos. Additionally, the archdiocese is a shareholder of the Bank of the Philippine Islands.[5]
Its suffragan diocese of Malolos in Bulacan, along with the dioceses of San Jose and Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija (both suffragans of Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan), and Balanga (Bataan), Iba (Zambales) and Tarlac (Tarlac; suffragans of the Archdiocese of San Fernando), form the group of dioceses in Central Luzon.
Since June 24, 2021, Cardinal Jose Advincula is the Archbishop of Manila.[6]
Per the efforts of conquistador Martín de Goiti – who founded the City of Manila by uniting the dominions of Sulayman III of Namayan, Sabag, Rajah Ache Matanda of Maynila who was a vassal to the Sultan of Brunei, and Lakan Dula of Tondo who was a tributary to Ming dynasty China – the Diocese of Manila was established on February 6, 1579, through the papal bull Illius Fulti Præsidio by Pope Gregory XIII, encompassing all Spanish colonies in Asia as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mexico. Fray Domingo de Salazar, a Dominican from the Convent of San Sebastian in Salamanca, Spain, was selected by King Philip II of Spain to be bishop of the new diocese and was presented to the pope.[7][8]
Over the course of history and growth of Catholicism in the Philippines, the diocese was elevated and new dioceses had been carved from its territory. On August 14, 1595, Pope Clement VIII raised the diocese to the status of an archdiocese with Bishop Ignacio Santibáñez its first archbishop. Three new dioceses were created as suffragans to Manila: Nueva Cáceres, Nueva Segovia, and Cebu. With the creation of these new dioceses, the territory of the archdiocese was reduced to the city of Manila and the adjoining civil provinces in proximity including Mindoro Island. It was bounded to the north by the Diocese of Nueva Segovia, to the south by the Diocese of Cebu, and to the southeast by the Diocese of Nueva Cáceres.[9]
During the Hispanic period, the archdiocese was ruled by a succession of Spanish and Latino archbishops. In the 1600s, Fr. Joaqin Martinez de Zuñiga, conducted a census of the Archdiocese of Manila which held most of Luzon under its spiritual care, and he reported 90,243 native Filipino tributes;[10]: 539 10,512 Chinese (Sangley) and mixed Chinese Filipino mestizo tributes;[10]: 537 and 10,517 mixed Spanish Filipino mestizo tributes.[10]: 539 Pure Spaniards are not counted as they are exempt from tribute. Out of these, Fr. Joaqin Martinez de Zuñiga estimated a total population count exceeding half a million souls.[10]: 537
The British occupation of Manila during the Seven Years' War saw the temporary conversion of Sultan Azim ud-Din I of Sulu to Catholicism, the massive looting and destruction of ecclesiastical treasures, as well as the burning of churches by British soldiers, Sepoy mercenaries, and rebellious Chinese residents in Binondo. This episode was particularly damaging to Philippine scholarship due to the fact that the monasteries holding the archives and artifacts about the pre-colonial Philippine Rajahnates, Kedatuans, Sultanates, Lakanates, and Wangdoms and their conversion to Catholicism were either burnt, lost, or looted by the British. An example would be the Boxer Codex, whose earliest owner Lord Giles of Ilchester had inherited it from an ancestor who stole it from Manila during the British Occupation.[11]
Nevertheless, peace was subsequently restored after the Protestant British occupation. In the time after this, the Catholic religious orders became the powerful driving force in the Archdiocese of Manila (with the exception of the Jesuits who were temporarily suppressed by the Spaniards due to their role in anti-imperialist movements in Latin America</