In 1935, the SVD priests of Christ the King Mission Seminary began ministering to a limited farming community around Manga Road in Cubao by first celebrating Mass in a small chapel near the present Cubao roundabout.[1] Henry Demond then celebrated Mass in the house of a certain Carbonell family, then moved to a quonsetmess hall from the Second World War that stood on what are now Spencer and Brooklyn streets. The building was abandoned by the combined US-Philippine Commonwealth Armed Forces.
As with other agrarian communities, farmers tilling the area's rice paddies invoked San Isidro Labrador, so the chapel was dedicated to him and belonged to Sacred Heart Parish in the Kamuníng area. While teaching as theology professor at Christ the King Mission Seminary (and later as Prefect of Scholastics), Ambrosio Manaligod and Ronnie Ganancias consistently helped with the pastoral work of the parish, especially in directing lay organizations.
In 1949, the chapel was re-dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. On July 15, 1950, the community chapel was elevated into a parish, with the first curé being the Argentine priest Juan Simón (1950–1954); he was succeeded by the German priests Alois Vogel (1954-1956) and Benito Rixner (1956–1958). For years, the parish remained under the SVD, as it was near the order's main residence at Christ the King Mission Seminary.[1]
In 1989, the SVD offered the parish to the Archdiocese of Manila in keeping with the missionary spirit found in their constitutions.[1] The official handover took place on Easter Sunday, 1990, with Reynaldo Celso as the first secular or diocesan parish priest. Due to an increase in the population of Catholics in Metro Manila, the archdiocese was gradually partitioned, with the Diocese of Cubao erected on August 28, 2003. The parish was selected to be the see for the new bishop, and extensive renovations on the church were carried out soon after.[1]
On December 30, 2014, GMA Network, actor Dingdong Dantes and actress Marian Rivera were married at the cathedral,[2] where Dantes was christened. Considered as one of the most expensive church weddings held in the country, guests included then-PresidentBenigno S. Aquino III as the principal sponsor, other politicians, the couple's colleagues from the television and film industry, and various celebrities.[3]
Ecclesiastical territory
The Immaculate Conception Cathedral once belonged to the Archdiocese of Manila, but is now the seat of the Diocese of Cubao. However, it is currently remains a parish in its own right as a part of the Vicariate of the Holy Family.
Parochial bounds
The parish itself is bounded to the north by a creek running Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. and Ermín García Avenues; to the east by EDSA; to the south by Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue (Santolan Road); and to the southwest by a small portion of Ermitaño Creek, parts of Horseshoe Village, N. Domingo Street and Balete Drive.
Surrounding parishes are Sacred Heart to the north; Nativity of Our Lord and Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the east; and the Minor Basilica Our Lady of Mount Carmel to the west. To the south is San Juan, which is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila.
Cathedral priests and rectors
The north side of the cathedral's naveCathedral interior in 2016
Ecclesiastical Atlas Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao (2010)
The 2008–2009 Catholic Directory of the Philippines (published by Claretian Publications for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, June 2008)
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