Territorial Prelature of Batanes Praelatura Territorialis Batanensis Prelatura Teritoryal ng Batanes Prelatura Territorial de Batanes
Coat of arms
Location
Country	Philippines
Territory	Batanes
Metropolitan	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuguegarao[1]
Statistics
Area	784 km2 (303 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 16, 476 15, 505 (94.1%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Basco, Batanes
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Prelate	Danilo B. Ulep
Metropolitan Archbishop	Ricardo L. Baccay

The Territorial Prelature of Batanes (in Latin: Praelatura Territorialis Batanensis) is a Latin rite pre-diocesan, non-missionary jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuguegarao^[2] on Luzon island in the Philippines.

The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral is the episcopal seat of the territorial prelate, in Basco, Batanes. The current bishop-prelate is Danilo B. Ulep.

Statistics and territory

As per 2014, it pastorally served 16,647 Catholics (94.5% of 17,609 total) on 784 km² in 6 parishes and 1 mission with 9 priests (diocesan), 4 lay religious (4 sisters), 2 seminarians.

The prelature includes Batanes province and the municipality of Calayan in Cagayan Province. The territory is divided into six parishes. In 2004 there were 15,505 baptized about 16,476 inhabitants.

History

The prelature was erected on 30 November 1950 as Territorial Prelature of Batanes Islands and Babuyan / Batanen(sis) et Babuyanen(sis) (Latin), on territory split off from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Manila. On 29 June 1951 it became part of the ecclesiastical province of Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. It became suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, its mother see on 21 September 1974. On 6 February 2002 renamed Territorial Prelature of Batanes / Batanen(sis) (Latin adjective).

Coat of arms

The silver crescent symbolizes the Immaculate Conception, the titular of the principal church in the prelature. The North Star together with the constellation of the Ursa major denotes that the prelature covers the northern-most part of the Philippines. Cattle is the most important export product of Batanes and Babuyan Islands hence the bull on pasture. The agitated sea symbolizes the dangerous waters between these islands.^[3]

Episcopal ordinaries

(all Roman Rite)

Prelates of Batanes and the Babuyan Islands

Ordinary			Period in Office	Coat of Arms
1.		Peregrin de la Fuente Nestar	2 July 1951 Appointed- 14 May 1966 Death
2.		Mario de Leon Baltazar	18 Nov 1966 Appointed - 1995 Resigned

Prelates of Batanes

Bishop-Prelates			Period in Office	Coat of Arms
1.		Jose Paala Salazar	25 Apr 1996 Appointed - 23 Nov 2002
2.		Camilo Diaz Gregorio	13 Sept 2003 Appointed - 20 May 2017 Retired
3.		Danilo B. Ulep	20 May 2017 Appointed– Present