Roxas Cathedral

The Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción; Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi), commonly called the Roxas Cathedral (Katedral sang Roxas), is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Roxas, Capiz, in central Philippines. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capiz.

The parish church was elevated into a cathedral. following the creation of the Diocese of Capiz on January 27, 1951. However, the diocese retained the old name of Capiz as it predates the change of the city name to Roxas on April 11, 1951.

History
The church and parish of Roxas City (then named as Municipality of Capiz) is one of the oldest in Panay Island, having been founded by Augustinian missionaries in 1707.

The cathedral, as it was in its first inception, is in the historic center of Roxas City and fronts the city plaza, opposite the Panay River and the Capiz Bridge.

The current structure was built in 1827. In 1898, it was within the diocese of Jaro, being run by secular priests. Loctugan and Ivisan were Capiz's visitas. From 1918 to 1920, Gabriel Reyes, (who became Bishop of Cebu in 1932 and Archbishop of Manila in 1949) served as its parish priest. The cathedral had undergone restoration and reconstruction works in 1954.

In the November 28, 2020 consistory, Archbishop Jose Lazaro Fuerte Advincula became the first Archbishop of Capiz to be created as a cardinal but received his red biretta and ring from Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, only on June 18, 2021, at the cathedral. Before this, he was named the 33rd Archbishop of Manila on March 25, 2021.

On May 3, 2023, Bishop Victor Barnuevo Bendico, formerly the Bishop of Baguio, was installed as the new Archbishop of Capiz in the same cathedral after he was appointed by Pope Francis on March 3, 2023.