Diocese of Novaliches

Address - Cathedral Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd, Regalado Avenue corner Omega Avenue, Fairview Park, Quezon City

Contact Number - (02) 8346-1507 / (02) 7794-2447

Email - soccommdionova@gmail.com

Facebook - fb.com/NovalichesDiocese

Website - www.novalichesdiocese.org

QUICK FACTS

Diocese Name - Diocese of Novaliches

Territory - Congressional Districts 4, 5 and 6 Quezon City and Congressional Districts of 1 and 3 of Caloocan City

Cathedral - Cathedral-Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd

Bishop - Most Rev. Roberto Orendain Gaa D.D.

Former Bishops - Most Rev. Teodoro Cruz Bacani D.D., Most Rev. Antonio Realubin Tobias D.D.

Date Established - March 7, 2002

Patron Saint - Christ, the Good Shepherd

Number of Parishes - 72

LIST OF PARISHES

VICARIATES

DIOCESAN LOGO (COAT OF ARMS)

(photo from https://novalichesdiocese.org)

The original settlement of Novaliches was established in 1854 when the 62nd Governor-General Manuel Pavia y Lacy, Marquez de Novaliches, offered prisoners their liberty and their right of land settlement if they were to clear the wasteland in the area

When they accomplished this task, people from Polo and Morong migrated here to form what they called Hacienda Tala because the clearing of the wasteland came like a star from heaven.

The star thereby depicts this original settlement of the new Diocese. The Christmas star was specifically chosen by the clergy to signify that the Diocese was born in the season when Jesus was also born. The light shining from the star represents Fr Horacio de la Costa, SJ, noted with their establishment of the Sacred Heart Novitiate that Novaliches was pagus novae lucis or place of the new light.

In 1856, when the first Church was founded by the Augustinians, the parish was originally dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament and later to Our Lady of Mercy. The symbols of the Blessed Sacrament, namely the Chalice and the Host, were also the symbols used in the original logo of the Quezon City North Ecclesiastical District. The original village of Novaliches in Spain was found to be situated near Valencia whose cathedral now holds the original chalice used by Jesus at the Last Supper.

The most important treasure also found in the original village of Novaliches was the chalice encrusted with amethysts donated by Gen. Manuel Pavia to their Chapel of San Miguel as a token of gratitude for their support of Isabella II in the Carlista war in Spain, who awarded him the title, Marquez de Novaliches.

The light blue color background is symbolic of the La Mesa Dam reservoir, main source of water for the whole Metro Manila and also represents the Marian character surrounding the presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. (source - novalichesdiocese.org/diocesan-logo)

HISTORY

The Diocese of Novaliches is a Church for the new millenium.

Formally called the Roman Catholic Bishop of Novaliches (RCBN), it was one of the two Dioceses established in the country at the beginning of the 21st century, along with the Diocese of Paranaque in 2002. The Dioceses of Cubao, Pasig, and Kalookan followed in 2003.

The Diocese of Novaliches was decreed by the Vatican to “encompass the whole area circumscribed in the present Civil Statute of the city known as Caloocan City-North and of a part of Quezon City that lies to the north of the road called Tandang Sora”. Such a canonical jurisdiction was not defined arbitrarily. This was actually a by-product of the changes in the area the locality of Novaliches belongs to.

It may also be said that the Diocese is blessed to be situated in an area which is replete with monumental landmarks in Philippine history and society. Landmarks like the site of Himlayang Pilipino in Pasong Tamo, Quezon City were Andres Bonifacio once established his new revolutionary government. Then there’s the La Mesa Dam, which is an important water reservoir for the whole Metro Manila.

Over the centuries, changes in the locality can be seen with the Diocese’s vast grassfields converted into highly commercial, industrial and residential areas where big manufacturing firms, premiere shopping malls, small-to-medium scale enterprises, gated subdivisions, and colleges abound.

The Diocese of Novaliches has similarly grown in the sixteen years since its establishment. Its once 50 Parishes and seven Vicariates in 2002 has now become 73 Parishes (2 Mission Areas) clustered into 12 Vicariates in 2016 and into three (3) Districts in 2019.

With a combined geographical population of 2.6M*, the Diocesan thrust to serve the marginalized and help them attain decent lives through pastoral services that range from feeding programs to scholarships, youth formation, and family planning has grown to include legal assistance and care for the elderly, vulnerable adults, persons with disabilities, and even persons in need of spiritual liberation.

The Diocese has, in fact, become the seat of the Parish Renewal Experience (PREX) in the Philippines and is most responsive to programs cascaded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

More importantly, it is also commonly one of the first to respond to the disaster relief and recovery needs in Metro Manila and other parts of the Country such as during Typhoons Ondoy and Yolanda.

The Diocese, to meet the expansion of its services and “clientele”, has expanded its facilities that now include a retreat house in Tagaytay, a central building for Diocesan Offices called as Obispado de Novaliches, a retirement house for priests known as the RCBN Tahanang Pari, and a rehabilitation center for drug dependent street children aka Rugby Boys and Girls known as Bahay Pangarap. This is not to mention a Diocesan Shrine for the Youth in the works that will serve as a central area for seminars and other diocesan-wide activities. (source : novalichesdiocese.org/about-2)

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