| Jurisdiction: | Diocese |
| Border: | Catholic |
| Masbate | |
| Latin: | Dioecesis Masbatensis |
| Local: | Diyosesis san Masbate Diyosesis ng Masbate Diócesis de Masbate |
| Coat: | Diocese of Masbate coat of arms.svg |
| Coat Size: | 150px |
| Country: | Philippines |
| Metropolitan: | Caceres |
| Territory: | Masbate |
| Province: | Caceres |
| Coordinates: | 12.3688°N 123.6189°W |
| Area Km2: | 7,000 |
| Population: | 983,172 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Catholics: | 917,532[1] |
| Catholics Percent: | 93.3 |
| Parishes: | 35 |
| Denomination: | Roman Catholic |
| Sui Iuris Church: | Latin Church |
| Rite: | Roman Rite |
| Established: | March 23, 1968 (created), September 25, 1968 (canonically erected) |
| Cathedral: | Saint Anthony of Padua Cathedral |
| Patron: | Anthony of Padua |
| Priests: | 60 |
| Bishop: | José S. Bantolo |
| Metro Archbishop: | Archbishop-Elect Rex Andrew Alarcon |
| Vicar General: | Eusebio Llonoso |
| Map: | Diocese_of_Masbate.png |
| Footnotes: | Statistics from Catholic-Hierarchy.org |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Masbate (Latin: Dioecesis Masbatensis) is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The seat of the bishop is the Cathedral Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua along Quezon Street, Masbate City.
The diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Cáceres. Its patron is Saint Anthony of Padua.
With the other provinces of Bicol, Masbate once belonged to the Archdiocese of Cáceres. When Cáceres was elevated to the status of an archdiocese on June 29, 1951, Masbate became part of the newly erected Diocese of Sorsogon. Pope Paul VI created the Diocese of Masbate on March 23, 1968. It was formally inaugurated on September 25, 1968, with Porfírio Rivera Iligan, a priest from the Archdiocese of Cáceres, as its first bishop.
| 1. | Bishop Porfirio R. Iligan | June 17, 1968 – February 14, 1998 | ||
| 2. | Bishop Joel Z. Baylon | February 14, 1998 – October 1, 2009 appointed Bishop of Legazpi | ||
| 2. | Bishop José S. Bantolo | June 15, 2011 – present |
The vicar-general assists the bishop in the administrative duties over the diocese. The offices of the vicar general and the episcopal vicars temporarily ceased upon the vacancy of the episcopal see.