Diocese of Butuan
St. Joseph Cathedral Diocesan Shrine

When the Diocese of Cagayan was created in 1933, Butuan was part of it, along with Surigao, Tandag, and Malaybalay, comprising the entire northern half of Mindanao.  Six years later, the Diocese of Surigao was erected and Butuan was placed under its ecclesiastical jurisdiction headed by Bp. Juan Vrakking, MSC. The Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s brought about the aggiornamento, breathing fresher air into the Church.  In 1967, following the lead of the Vatican II, the Diocese of Butuan was established by virtue of the Apostolic Constitution Eodem Officio, written by Pope Paul VI.  Fr. Carmelo DF Morelos, a procurator of the Collegio Filippino in Rome, was appointed its first bishop in 1967.

​When Bp. Morelos was nominated to the Archdiocese of Zamboanga in 1994, Butuan was placed under the pastoral care of Bp. Juan de Dios M. Pueblos.  He led the diocese as its shepherd until his death in 2017. Incidentally, a few months later, his Auxiliary Bishop Zacarias C. Jimenez succumbed to a lingering illness.  While waiting for Vatican’s nomination, the Diocese of Butuan is entrusted to the care of Abp. Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ as its Apostolic Administrator.

March 25, 2019, 6pm, and also The Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary. Pope Francis announced the appointment of Rev. Fr Cosme “Meng” Almedilla as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Butuan.

June 25, 2019, the people of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur witnessed the Episcopal Ordination and Installation of the 3rd Bishop of the See of Butuan MOST REVEREND COSME DAMIAN RACINES ALMEDILLA, D.D.

https://www.butuandiocese.ph/about-us