Diocese of Kabankalan

The Diocese of Kabankalan (Lat: Dioecesis Cabancalensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese of the Catholic Church in central Philippines. The diocese is centered in the Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental province and covers the southern part of the province. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Jaro like the other two dioceses of Negros Occidental.

Diocese of Kabankalan Dioecesis Cabancalensis Diyosesis sang Kabankalan Diyosesis ng Kabankalan Diócesis de Kabankalan
Catholic
Kabankalan Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	5th and 6th congressional districts of Negros Occidental except Hinigaran (Binalbagan, Candoni, Cauayan, Himamaylan City, Hinoba-an, Ilog, Isabela, Kabankalan City, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Sipalay City)
Ecclesiastical province	Jaro
Metropolitan	Jaro
Deaneries	5
Statistics
Area	3,923.7 km2 (1,514.9 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2023) 982,071 785,651 (80%)
Parishes	31
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	March 30, 1987
Cathedral	Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral
Patron saint	Francis Xavier
Secular priests	67
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	sede vacante
Metropolitan Archbishop	Midyphil B. Billones
Apostolic Administrator	Louie P. Galbines
Website
Diocese of Kabankalan

The titular patron of the diocese is Francis Xavier whose feast is celebrated every December 3. The seat of the bishop is the New Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral in Kabankalan. Its former diocesan cathedral was one of the 12 churches founded by the Order of Augustinian Recollects that are now Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines.

On May 14, 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Louie Patalinghug Galbines of Kabankalan as the seventh bishop of Bacolod. The diocese is currently sede vacante and Bishop Galbines serves as its apostolic administrator.

History

A map of the dioceses in Negros and Cebu.

The entire island of Negros was once under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Bacolod. The diocese was later split into four dioceses: the Diocese of Dumaguete in 1955; the Diocese of San Carlos and the Diocese of Kabankalan in 1987. The dioceses are suffragans of the Archdiocese of Jaro, except for Dumaguete which is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Kabankalan was proclaimed a diocese on March 30, 1987 and Bishop Vicente Navarra, auxiliary bishop of Capiz was appointed by Pope John Paul II on November 21, 1987 as the first bishop of Kabankalan and was formally installed on February 11, 1988.

On May 24, 2001, Vicente Navarra was appointed as the fifth bishop of Bacolod. The diocese was entrusted to the care of the diocesan administrator, Rev. Msgr. Rogelio B. Cruz.

Pope John Paul II appointed Patricio Buzon, provincial superior of the Southern Salesian Province in Cebu City, as the second bishop of Kabankalan on December 27, 2002. His episcopal consecration took place on February 19, 2003 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Punta Princesa, Cebu City. Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu served as his principal consecrator, assisted by Bishop Precioso Cantillas of Maasin and Bishop Vicente Navarra. He was officially installed as bishop of Kabankalan on March 12, 2003.

Bishop Buzon was appointed as the sixth bishop of Bacolod on May 24, 2016. Rev. Msgr. Rolando G. Nueva served as the diocesan administrator during the sede vacante period.

On March 12, 2018, Pope Francis appointed Rev. Msgr. Louie Galbines, then vicar general of the Diocese of Bacolod as the third bishop of Kabankalan. He was consecrated on May 28, 2018, at San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City, with Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop emeritus of Manila serving as the principal consecrator. His installation took place the following day at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Kabankalan City.

Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Galbines as the seventh bishop of Bacolod on May 14, 2026. The diocese is currently in a sede vacante period with Bishop Galbines serving as its apostolic administrator until his installation as bishop of Bacolod on August 11, 2026.

All of the three bishops of Kabankalan were subsequently appointed bishops of Bacolod.

The diocese is set to host the Regional Youth Day 2028 - Western Visayas and Romblon.

Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral

Old St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (now the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Señor Santo Niño).

Since its erection, the seat of the bishop was in the Old St. Francis Xavier Cathedral (now Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Señor Santo Niño) in downtown Kabankalan fronting the Public Plaza. The compound of the former Kabankalan Cathedral was gutted by a fire in 1986, a year before the creation of the diocese.

The construction for a new cathedral in Hda. Clementina, Barangay Talubangi, Kabankalan City began in 2013 under Bishop Patricio Buzon. The new cathedral was officially consecrated and inaugurated on September 8, 2022, during the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, marking its formal consecration. Hundreds of attendees, including government officials, gathered for the mass presided over by Bishop Louie Galbines, alongside Bishop Patricio Buzon of Bacolod and Bishop Julito Cortes of Dumaguete. Bishop Galbines described the cathedral as a significant landmark for the diocese, emphasizing that its grandeur symbolizes how unity with the Lord and with one another enables the community to dream big and achieve great things.

The solemn dedication of the new Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral was presided over by Cardinal Jose Advincula, Archbishop of Manila on December 2, 2025, a day before the feast of Saint Francis Xavier, making it the new seat of the Diocese of Kabankalan.

Coat of Arms

The yellow background represents the color of the Church and of the papacy. It was for our Lord’s Church and for his visible representative on earth that St. Francis Xavier, the Patron of the Diocese of Kabankalan, incessantly worked and offered his life as a Jesuit missionary. The cross and the hand holding it belongs to this dauntless saint, who journeyed throughout Asia and the Pacific to set the torch of Faith, Hope and Charity ablaze in the hearts and in the lives of people he converted to Christianity.

The clear skies, the mountains ranges and the sugarcane depict the typical milieu in the Diocese of Kabankalan. The stalks of sugarcane, which remain the chief produce of Negros Island, depict the aim of the diocese to be in solidarity with its people.

Jurisdiction

The Diocese of Kabankalan comprises the entire southern portion of Negros Occidental, extending from the town of La Castellana, just below La Carlota City, all the way to Hinoba-an on the southernmost coast. It covers 11 cities and municipalities of the province occupying a total land area of 3,923.7 square kilometers (1,514.9 sq mi) and, as of 2011, a population of 769,393 of which 80 per cent are Catholics. The cities and municipalities under the Diocese of Kabankalan are Kabankalan City, Binalbagan, Himamaylan City, Isabela, Moises Padilla, La Castellana, Ilog, Candoni, Cauayan, Sipalay City, and Hinoba-an.

Ordinaries

Bishops of Kabankalan

No.	Bishop		Period in office	Notes	Coat of arms
1		Most Rev. Vicente Macanan Navarra, DD	February 11, 1988 – May 24, 2001 (13 years, 102 days)	Former Auxiliary Bishop of Capiz Appointed Bishop of Bacolod
2		Most Rev. Patricio Abella Buzon, SDB, DD	March 12, 2003 – May 24, 2016 (13 years, 73 days)	Appointed Bishop of Bacolod
3		Most Rev. Louie Patalinghug Galbines, SThD, DD	May 29, 2018 – May 14, 2026 (7 years, 350 days)	Appointed Bishop of Bacolod

Diocesan administrators (sede vacante)

  Apostolic administrator

Administrator	Period in office
Most Rev. Vicente M. Navarra, DD	May 24, 2001 – July 19, 2001 (56 days)
Rev. Msgr. Rogelio B. Cruz, JCL, VG	July 19, 2001 – March 12, 2003 (1 year, 236 days)
Most Rev. Patricio A. Buzon, SDB, DD	May 24, 2016 – August 9, 2016 (77 days)
Rev. Msgr. Rolando G. Nueva, VG	August 9, 2016 – May 29, 2018 (1 year, 293 days)
Most Rev. Louie P. Galbines, SThD, DD	May 14, 2026 – present (28 days)

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines