The diocese serving the western part of Panay Island celebrated its 40 years of existence on Wednesday, November 15.

The event was marked with a Mass presided over by papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown at the San Jose de Antique Cathedral.

In his homily, he emphasized the vital role and contribution of all the clergy, the religious and laypeople in nurturing and strengthening the faith.

“We’re celebrating people of faith who came before us. We’re celebrating their faith, their constancy, their fidelity because we are the inheritors. We are beneficiaries of these people who went before us,” Brown said.

The nuncio asked the faithful to follow the footsteps of those who have gone ahead of us 441 years ago, 60 years ago, and 40 years ago- to walk in the footsteps of saints.

The local Church was first established as a prelature in 1962, with Bishop Henricus Cornelio De Wit as its first prelate.

On Nov. 15, 1982, Antique was elevated to a diocese, becoming a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Jaro.

At present, the diocese, which is under the pastoral guidance of Bishop Marvyn Maceda, has 25 parishes.

Wednesday’s celebrations also marked the diocese’s 60th anniversary as a local Church, the 35th anniversary of the 1987 Diocesan Synod, and 441 years of Christianity in Antique.