The Most Famous

RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Philippines

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This page contains a list of the greatest Filipino Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 3,187 Religious Figures, 12 of which were born in Philippines. This makes Philippines the birth place of the 35th most number of Religious Figures behind Croatia, and Canada.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Filipino Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Filipino Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Filipino Religious Figures.

Photo of Jaime Sin

1. Jaime Sin (1928 - 2005)

With an HPI of 47.79, Jaime Sin is the most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Jaime Lachica Sin (Chinese: 辛海梅, 辛海棉; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from the Philippines. He was instrumental in the historic and peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled the dictatorship and ended martial law under Ferdinand Marcos and installed Corazon Aquino as his successor in the Fifth Republic of the Philippines. He was also a key figure in the 2001 EDSA Revolution that replaced President Joseph Estrada with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Photo of Lorenzo Ruiz

2. Lorenzo Ruiz (1600 - 1637)

With an HPI of 47.53, Lorenzo Ruiz is the 2nd most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Lorenzo Ruiz (Filipino: Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila; Chinese: 李樂倫; Spanish: Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila; November 28, 1594 – September 29, 1637), also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila, was a Filipino Catholic layman and a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. A Chinese Filipino, he became his country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century. Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people.

Photo of Luis Antonio Tagle

3. Luis Antonio Tagle (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 45.94, Luis Antonio Tagle is the 3rd most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Luis Antonio Chito Gokim Tagle ( TAH-glay; Tagalog: [lʊˈwis ɐnˈtonɪo 'taɡlɛ]; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church currently serving as the Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization (formerly the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) since June 5, 2022, and as the President of Interdicasterial Commission for Consecrated Religious since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2020. Tagle is the Cardinal-Bishop of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle (pro hac vice) and also serves as the President of the Catholic Biblical Federation, Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, and as a member of various departments and dicasteries in the Roman Curia. Tagle, who generally prefers to be called by his nickname "Chito" rather than by his clerical title, has been involved in many social issues in the Philippines, with emphasis on helping the poor while defending the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion, contraception, and what he has called "practical atheism". Dubbed as the "Asian Francis", he is often seen as a representative of the Catholic Church's progressive wing. Tagle has criticized the Catholic Church for using "harsh words" to describe LGBT people as well as divorced and remarried Catholics, whom he believes should be allowed to receive Holy Communion on a case-by-case basis.

Photo of Gaudencio Rosales

4. Gaudencio Rosales (b. 1932)

With an HPI of 44.94, Gaudencio Rosales is the 4th most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Gaudencio Borbón Rosales (born August 10, 1932) is a Filipino Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Manila, from 2003 to 2011. He was made a cardinal in 2006. He was the fourth native Filipino to hold the post. During his last year as archbishop, he was concurrently named apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Pasig from December 21, 2010 to June 23, 2011, a post he accepted after the resignation of Pasig's first bishop, Francisco San Diego. He is also the longest-lived Filipino cardinal, surpassing Cardinal Jose Tomas Sanchez.

Photo of Wenceslao Padilla

5. Wenceslao Padilla (1949 - 2018)

With an HPI of 44.39, Wenceslao Padilla is the 5th most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Wenceslao Selga Padilla (29 September 1949 – 25 September 2018) was a Filipino Scheut priest who from 2 August 2003 was the Apostolic prefect of the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar, a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in Mongolia.

Photo of Jose Tomas Sanchez

6. Jose Tomas Sanchez (1920 - 2012)

With an HPI of 44.27, Jose Tomas Sanchez is the 6th most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

José Tomás Sánchez (March 17, 1920 – March 9, 2012) was a Filipino Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1991 to 1996. He previously held several diocesan bishop positions in the Philippines, the last of which was Archbishop of Nueva Segovia from 1982 to 1986. He was ordained a priest on May 12, 1946, and consecrated bishop on May 12, 1968, following his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Cáceres. He was elevated to cardinal on June 28, 1991, by Pope John Paul II.

Photo of Orlando Quevedo

7. Orlando Quevedo (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 42.23, Orlando Quevedo is the 7th most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Orlando Beltran Quevedo (born 11 March 1939) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since 2014, he was Archbishop of Cotabato from 1998 to 2018. He became a bishop in 1980.

Photo of Gregorio Aglipay

8. Gregorio Aglipay (1860 - 1940)

With an HPI of 41.36, Gregorio Aglipay is the 8th most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Gregorio Aglipay Cruz y Labayán (Latin: Gregorius Aglipay Cruz; Filipino: Gregorio Labayan Aglipay Cruz; pronounced uhg-LEE-pahy; May 5, 1860 – September 1, 1940) was a Filipino former Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary during the Philippine Revolution and Philippine–American War who became the first head and leader of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), the first-ever wholly Filipino-led independent Christian Church in the Philippines in the form of a nationalist church. Known for inciting patriotic rebellion among the Filipino clergy during the Philippine Revolution and Philippine–American War, he was also a political activist who became acquainted with writer and labor leader Isabelo de los Reyes who would then start an independent Christian Filipino Church colloquially named after Aglipay in 1902 as a revolt against the Roman Catholic Church, which was the state religion of the Philippines at the time, due to the mistreatment of the Spanish friars towards the Filipinos. Contrary to popular belief, Aglipay did not join the IFI until one month from its proclamation by de los Reyes and the Unión Obrera Democrática. Aglipay was previously excommunicated by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda y Villa of Manila in May 1899, upon the expressed permission of Pope Leo XIII, due to his involvement in revolutionary activities, despite his prior intercession and defense of some of the Spanish Roman Catholic clergy from liberal-nationalist Filipino revolutionaries. The Roman Catholic Church made attempts to bring Aglipay back to their fold, but failed. Aglipay joined Freemasonry in May 1918, a society excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church. Aglipay married Pilar Jamias y Ver from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte in 1939 and then died one year later. Followers of Aglipay through the Church are sometimes colloquially referred to by their membership as Aglipayans.

Photo of Ricardo Vidal

9. Ricardo Vidal (1931 - 2017)

With an HPI of 41.21, Ricardo Vidal is the 9th most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal (Latin: Ricardus Titus Vidal; Spanish: Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 – October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010.

Photo of Rufino Santos

10. Rufino Santos (1908 - 1973)

With an HPI of 38.96, Rufino Santos is the 10th most famous Filipino Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Rufino Jiao Santos (August 26, 1908 – September 3, 1973) was the 29th Archbishop of Manila from February 10, 1953, until his death on September 3, 1973, and was the first Filipino elevated to the rank of cardinal.

People

Pantheon has 13 people classified as Filipino religious figures born between 1600 and 1957. Of these 13, 4 (30.77%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Filipino religious figures include Luis Antonio Tagle, Gaudencio Rosales, and Orlando Quevedo. The most famous deceased Filipino religious figures include Jaime Sin, Lorenzo Ruiz, and Wenceslao Padilla. As of April 2024, 1 new Filipino religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Oscar Cruz.

Living Filipino Religious Figures

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Deceased Filipino Religious Figures

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Newly Added Filipino Religious Figures (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 8 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.