Diocese of Balanga/Prior history

Catholic Church in the Philippines which includes Bataan was governed by the Archdiocese of Mexico during the Spanish times. Pope Gregory XIII created the Diocese of Manila on February 6, 1579, losing the Philippines from the archdiocese's jurisdiction as well as starting carrying the Catholic Church in the country. With the first diocese created, it is considered as the Philippines' mother diocese, with its seat Manila Cathedral as the country's mother church.

On August 14, 1595, the Diocese of Manila was elevated to an archdiocese by Pope Clement VIII. Bataan remained under the jurisdiction of the archdiocese until September 9, 1949, when the Diocese of San Fernando in Pampanga was erected after being created by Pope Pius XII on December 11, 1948. Overall, Bataan as part of the ecclessiastical territory of Manila lasted for 371 calendar years and 27 leaders, from the Spanish period to post-American period under the leadership of Bishop Domingo de Salazar to Archbishop Michael O' Doherty.

In 1940, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) unveiled the marker of Parish of St. Joseph in Balanga. The church was destroyed during World War II and renovated after the war.

From September 9, 1949 to November 8, 1975, the province became part of the Archdiocese of San Fernando for 26 years, started with the installation of Bishop Cesar Maria Guerrero y Rodriguez and ended with the Diocese of Balanga's canonical erection with Bishop Celso Nogoy Guevarra's installation as first bishop.

On March 17, 1975, the Diocese of San Fernando was elevated to an archdiocese. At that same date, the Diocese of Balanga was created that led to Bataan's separation from the ecclesiastical territory of Pampanga upon erection on November 8, 1975.