In a land area of 3,053.4 square kilometers, the diocesan territory covers the civil province of Tarlac. Tarlac is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Luzon Island. Its capital is Tarlac City. Tarlac borders Pampanga to the south, Nueva Ecija to the east, Pangasinan to the north, and Zambales to the west. It is a part of Central Luzon, which is composed of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.
As of year end 2017 the total population of the diocese is 1,337,000 of which 82.70 percent are Catholics or equivalent to 1,106,000.
Pampango or Kapampangan is spoken by more than half of the population followed by Ilocano spoken. Tagalog is widely understood.
DIOCESE OF TARLAC
(Diocesis Tarlacensis)
Created: Feb. 16, 1963
Erected: May 10, 1963
Comprises the Civil Province of Tarlac
Titular: Saint Sebastian
The Diocese of Tarlac comprises the whole province of Tarlac. Before its creation on Feb. 16, 1963, the province belonged to two different dioceses. Its capital town of Tarlac and the southern towns belonged to the then Diocese of San Fernando, Pampanga, and the northern towns to the Diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Today it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Pampanga. It is the melting pot where Kapampangans, Ilocanos, Pangasinenses, Tagalogs, and the Aetas live together in harmony and peace.
The province of Tarlac is right in the heartland of Central Luzon which comprises Region III. This location between Manila and the Northern provinces has made it the important trading center that it is today. Tarlac is landlocked by Pangasinan on the north, Nueva Ecija on the east, Pampanga on the south, and Zambales on the west.
Originally Tarlac was part of the provinces of Pampanga and Pangasinan. It was organized as a province of its own close to the end of the Spanish regime. With its neighboring provinces in Central Luzon, Tarlac was among the first to rise up in arms against Spain in 1898. When Malolos was abandoned as the second seat of the First Philippine Republic as the Americans overran the country, Tarlac, Tarlac became the new seat of the new government for a few months.
From more recent times, in World War II, the town of Capas in Tarlac is remembered as hallowed ground where the infamous "Death March" ended at Camp O'Donnell, after the Filipino-American forces surrendered in Bataan. The prisoners were made to walk the entire distance from Bataan to Capas, with hardly any food, half of them dying along the road. In the fifties and the sixties, Tarlac was again the seat of more rebellion, this time by the Hukbalahaps during the term of President Ramon Magsaysay.
The entire diocese is being renewed and evangelized in accordance with the spirit of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines. Large parishes are being divided into manageable sizes. Parish pastoral councils are undergoing revitalization along the lines of renewed evangelization. And the laity is gradually being introduced to new methods and concepts.
The Diocese of Tarlac has St. Sebastian for its titular patron.
Tarlac's connectivity with its neighboring provinces and beyond is feasible with the presence of jeepneys and bus services. The province has several inter-provincial bus terminals, all located in the city of Tarlac. Inter-provincial bus transport services like Victory, Five-Star, Philippine Rabbit, Dagupan, Baliwag are some of the buses serving Tarlac and its nearby provinces.
Literacy rate (simple literacy) in the diocesan territory is 94.42 percent.
Belenismo in Tarlac Festival
Belenismo sa Tarlac is a festival that started in 2007, the Belenismo in Tarlac is a showcase of the colourful, authentic and artistically inspired Belen (nativity sets) displays throughout the town's municipalities, business establishments and churches.
