CEARA
471
CECILIA
Cathedral, Birmingham, compiled by the cathedral clergy
(Birmingham, 19041, vii; Catholic Magazine (London, 1833),
III, 298.
Edwin Burton. Ceara, Diocese of. See Fortalezza.
Cebu (Dicecesis Nominis Jesu), Diocese of (C.EBUANENSis^in the Philippine Islands. Cebu, the diocesan city, spelled also Sebii and Zebu, in the prov- ince of the same name, is so called from the island on which it is situated, in turn so called from the Indian ox (box indicus), (in account of a fancied resemblance between that animal and the outline of the island. Magellan discovered Cebu in April, 1521, but he lost his life in a foolhardy battle on the island of Mactan, opposite Cebii, and no trace of his expedition was left except the celebrated statuette of the Holy Child, called the Santo Xiiio, still held in the greatest vene- ration.
The Diocese of Cebu was separated from the Dio- cese of Manila, which originally included the whole Philippine archipelago, 14 August, 1595. The new territory comprised the present Dioceses of Cebii and Jaro, and the Vicariate Apostolic of the Marian Isl- ands. The diocese now consists of the islands of Cebii, Leyte, Samar, Bohol, Siquijor, Camaguin, and the smaller islands adjacent. Since its establishment in 1595. twenty-two bishops have governed the Church of Cebu. The northern half of the island of Mindanao remains under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cebii, until the appointment of a bishop at Zamboanga, as provided for (1903) by Leo XIII, in the Bull "Qua- Mari Sinieo". Cebii was the birth- place of the Christian religion in the Philippine Isl- ands. It was here that it made its first stand against the gradually advancing forces of Mohammedanism. Father Urdaneta, an Augustinian friar, accompanied by six others of the same order, went to Cebii in April. 1565, and immediately began his work of evan- gelization. The first convert was a niece of Tupas, a native chief of great influence. Two other friars, Fathers Juan de Vivero and Juan de Villanueva, ar- rived with Salcedo in 1567. Shortly afterwards the Jesuits went to Bohol, in 1595, and also to Leyte, Samar. and Mindanao. They built fortified churches for defence against the Moros everywhere, and forts at ( Vim. Iloilo, Misamis, Zamboanga, and other places. They also began, in 1595, the College of San Ildefonso. now called San Carlos College, in Cebii. The work of the missionaries was facilitated by tin- disposition of the brave but naturally peaceful Visa- yan people, who occupied most of the territory. The missionaries were opposed by the ferocious tribes of the Mohammedans, who for centuries had been gradually extending their sway eastwards, and by l.'iJl were strongly established in the western part of the island of Mindanao, in the Sulu archipelago. The efforts of the missionaries were threefold in character: defensive against the bloodthirsty Moros, who roamed over these seas in flotillas of ships; active in the evangelization of the tribes: and also didactic in the arts of peace, agriculture, trades, and the rudiments of learning. The natives, already well forward in trades, soon became expert carpenters, masons, work- ers in metals, weavers — in a word, well equipped to make the best use of the natural resources at hand. V 'he missionaries advanced, the domination of the Moros was gradually restricted, though even as late as 1856 occasional fleets of Moro boats appeared, striking terror into the peaceful Visayans. With the beginning of steam navigation, the Spanish ships of war at once assumed offensive tactics against the Moros, whose vessels were easily captured and de- stroyed.
After the insurrection of 1898, and the Spanish- American War that followed, the people suffered greatly, not only from the evils of war, but also from the loss of their cattle and horses by epidemics.
Many of their churches were destroyed, not only by
the insurrectos, but also by United States troops.
The chief evil, however, was the lack of priests. The
parishes average about ten thousand souls. In the
mountainous regions about half a million of souls
were without spiritual succour. The Franciscans, by
whom many churches were formerly supplied, began
to return, and the Jesuits worked with great success
in Mindanao. Redemptorist Fathers from Ireland
are exclusively occupied in giving missions to the
people. The Lazarists have two colleges for boys,
one in Cebii with 600, another in Samar with 350
pupils. The same Fathers have also charge of the
ecclesiastical seminary, in which there are 85 students.
A college for girls is conducted in Cebii by the Sisters
of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, with 500 pupils.
An orphan asylum and trade school under the same
Sisters care for 85 girls and a few small boys. A
leper hospital was maintained for fifty years until
1906. The diocese contains 135 secular priests and
123 religious, of the following communities: Augus-
tinians, Recollects, Franciscans, Benedictines, Jesuits,
Lazarists, and Redemptorists. There are fifty-five
schools in the diocese, with an attendance of about
12,000 pupils. The people are practically all Cath-
olics, and are very devout and loyal to the Church.
Estimated population, 2.145,679. The Right Rev.
Thomas Augustine Hendrick, the first American
bishop, was consecrated at Rome, 23 Aug., 1903,
and took possession 6 March, 1904.
Redondo, Historia de la Dw «. ,/, Chi), in Guia Official de Fdipinas (10071; Bourne, The Philippine Islands; The Philip- pine Commission Reports; The CathoHc Directory (Milwaukee, 1908).
Thomas A. Hendrick.
Cecilia, Saint, virgin and martyr, patroness of church music, d. at Rome. This saint, so often glori- fied in the fine arts and in poetry, is one of the most venerated mar- tyrs of Christian antiquity. The oldest historical account of St. Cecilia is found in the "Martyr- ologium 1 lii r- on ym i anum" ; from this it is evident that her feast was cele- brated in the Ro- man Church in the fourth cen- tury. Her name occurs under dif- ferent dates in the above-men- tioned martyr- ology; its men- tion under 1 1 Au- gust, the feast of the martyr Tibur- tius, is evidently a later and erroneous addition, due to the fact that this Tiburtius, who was buried on the Via l.aliieana, was wrongly identified will i Tiburt ins. the brother-in-law of St. Cecilia, mentioned m the Acts ol her martyrdom. Perhaps also there was another Roman martyr of the name of Cecilia buried on the Via Labicana. Under the date of L6 September ( lecilia is mentioned alone, with the topographical note: "Appia' vii in Romanataleet passiosanctsi leciUai Virginia" it he text is to be thus corrected!. This is evidently the day of the burial of the holy martyr in the Catacomb of Callistus. The feast of the sain! mentioned under 22 November, on which day it is si ill celebrated, was kept in the church in the Trastevere quarter at Rome, dedicated to her. Its origin, therefore, is to be traced
Detail from Raphael's St. Cecilia
(Academy, Bologna)
