Roman Catholic Diocese of Ipil

Roman Catholic Diocese Of Ipil

The Diocese of Ipil (Latin: Dioecesis Ipilen(sis)) is a Roman Catholic Diocese located in the city of Ipil in the Ecclesiastical province of Zamboanga in the Philippines. It is an ecclesiastical territory in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. It occupies an area of 4,850 square kilometers extending from the boundary of Zamboanga del Norte on the north to Olutanga Island on the south, from the town of Tungawan on the west to the town Margosatubig on the east boundaries set by Pope John Paul II himself when he decreed the separation of this ecclesiastical territory from the Archdiocese of Zamboanga on December 24, 1979.

The area described above comprises the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay. The terrain is generally hilly bounded by mountains on the north and the Sibuyan Bay on the south. There are no large cities in the area; it is predominantly rural, predominantly agricultural, with rice, corn, rubber and coconut as the major crops. Of these only rubber is produced commercially. The overall economic situation of the area is very poor. Roads and facilities are inadequate.

The population covered by the prelature is 581,316 of which 62 per cent are Catholics. A majority of the population are migrants from the Central Visayas area, which accounts for the predominance of the Cebuano dialect, followed by Ilonggo. These are the dialects used in the Catholic liturgy.