Diocese of Mati’s 38th Founding Anniversary: Revitalizing the Faith Towards Maximum Evangelization

From being a prelature of then Diocese of Tagum, to making it as a diicese itself, the humble beginnings of the Diocese of Mati motivated the local church to be a church focused on seeking the kingdom of God first, and making God as our strength in all undertakings.

As the Diocese of Mati celerates its 38th founding anniversary on Feb. 16, 2022, Bishop Abel Apigo,D.D., Bishop of Mati acknowkedged his predecessor, Bishop Emiritus Patricio Alo, D.D. Bishop-Emeritus, who started the pursuit of maximized evangelization.

“We are continuing this endeavor in response to the demand of strenfthening our faith. Yes, we have to revitalize our faith for us to be resilient in any aspect,” he said.

For the four years that he is shepherding his flock in the diocese, Bishop Abel Apigo furthered that his dream is to have more parishes and priests, and as such, he appealed to the lay faithful to pray for more priests.

He is proud of the strengthening of faith of the people in the diocese.

“It is very evident. We have been through a lot, yet we remain steadfast in our faith. Despite the pandemic, we are still here. It did not hinder us to continue propagating and manifesting our Catholic faith,” he added.

Bishop Abel Apigo stressed the necessity for the people to journey together as one big family of the local Cathlic church in Mati.

The Diocese of Mati boasts of its 48 diicesan priests, 10 religious priests, in 19 parishes and one quasi parish, and another quasi parish to be erected soon in Brgy. Piso, municipality of Banaybanay, Davao Oriental. (Neela Duallo)