The Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral (Filipino: Katedral ng Mahal na Birhen ng Kasanto-santuhang Rosaryo), commonly known as Naval Cathedral (Filipino: Katedral ng Naval), is a 20th-century church building of the Roman Catholic Church in the municipality of Naval, Biliran, Philippines. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Naval.[1]
The island of Biliran used to be part of the Leyte-Samar province during the Spanish Philippines period.[2] The parish of Naval, then known as "Bagasumbul", was founded in 1860.[1][3] It later became a separate pueblo from the town of Biliran in 1869 after a petition for its independence was submitted in 1861.[2][4] In the latter half of the 19th century, the first church of Naval was built but was destroyed by a typhoon in 1912. A new church was then constructed which would eventually undergo a facade renovation under the helm of Fr. Deodato Esplanada in 1950. This was replaced with the new and present edifice which was built in 1965.[3] The church became a cathedral when the Diocese of Naval was founded in 1988.[1] The diocese comprises Biliran and extreme northwestern Leyte province.
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