TUGUEGARAO, DIOCESE OF
Diocese and capital city of the province of Cagayan, on the island of Luzon (Philippine Islands).
It comprises the north-eastern part of the island, embracing the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Batanes. It has an area of 11,841 sq. km. with a population of 673,550, of whom 545,000 are Catholics; it has 49 parishes served by 35 diocesan priests and 42 regular clergy; it has a major and minor seminary; 1 male and 5 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 435-36).
The diocese was erected by Pope St. Pius X on 10 April 1910 by separation from the diocese of Nueva Segovia. Its first bishop was Mgr Maurice Patrick Foley, appointed on 10 September 1910. In 1917 the major and minor seminaries were founded at the College of St Hyacinth under the direction of the Dominicans. The diocese is a suffragan of Nueva Segovia.