San Fernando City is the provincial capital of Pampanga and the regional centre of Central Luzon. It is popularly known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines” and holds a yearly Giant Lantern Festival every December. The city’s majority religion is Roman Catholicism, that is why it is under the jurisdiction of Roman Catholic Archiocese of San Fernando and headed by the Most Reverend Paciano Aniceto, D.D.
The seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese is located in the city and it is the St. Ferdinand Metropolitan Cathedral, otherwise known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando. It is a metropoltan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Republic of the Phlippines.
The archdiocese holds jurisdiction that encompasses the whole province of Pampanga and includes the Suffragan Sees of Iba, Udac and Balanga.
The first structure of the church was built in 1755, it was constructed of wood and thatch by the Augustinian friars under the patronage of San Fernando III, King of Castile. On October 17, 1757, the townsfolk requested the governor-general for exclusions from the tribute to enable them to construct a church. It was later transferred in 1788 to the care of secular priests.
The development of the present churh started during the same year and it was administered by Fr. Manuel Canlas and a committe composed of the principales of the town. They were led by gobernadorcillo Bernabe Pamintuan. The church was completed in 1808 and was rededicated to the Assumption of Our Lady.
On the height of the Philippine Revolution, it was burned by the Philippine Revolutionary under the orders of Gen. Antonio Luna on May 4, 1899. The church was destroyed again during a fire breakout in 1939 and was later restored by architect Fernando H. Ocampo.
The church was elevated to Cathedral in 1948 when it became the seat of the Diocese of San Fernando which is canonically created by Pope Pius XII. The diocese was then elevated by Pope Paul VI to Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1975. The first bishop of the cathedral was Monsignor Cesar Ma. Guerrero, D.D and was later followed by the Most Reverend Emilio A. Cinense, D.D., who became its first archbishop.
The succedding archbishop were the Most Reverend Oscar V. Cruz, D.D. in 1978. Meanwhile he was later replaced by the third and current archishop of San Fernando, the Most Reverend Paciano B. Aniceto, D.D.