It comprises the civil province of Occidental Mindoro and its 11 municipalities. Its titular patron is St. Joseph the Worker whose feast is celebrated May 1 in the vicariate, and Our Lady of Fatima, its secondary patroness, whose feast is celebrated May 13. The Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose, Mindoro is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lipa. The history of Occidental Mindoro is closely linked with that of its sister province, Oriental Mindoro. Spanish exploration of the island began as early as 1570. The Augustinians were the first to bring the faith, in 1574, followed by the Franciscans in 1578. Then the Jesuits came and stayed until 1667, by which time many Mangyans (aborigines of the island) were already settled in many places along the coast. Ecclesiastically Mindoro was part of the Manila diocese until the Diocese of Lipa was created in 1910 and Mindoro came under its jurisdiction. When the province of Mindoro was made an apostolic prefecture in 1936, it still remained under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Lipa and had Bishop William Finneman, SVD at the helm of the prefecture. In 1951, following the political subdivision of the island province, the prefecture was elevated to an apostolic vicariate, the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan. On Jan. 27, 1983, Pope John Paul II created the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose de Mindoro comprising the province of Occidental Mindoro, and appointed the Most Reverend Vicente C. Manuel, SVD as the first Apostolic Vicar. He was ordained bishop on June 29, 1983. The second Vicar Apostolic, Most Reverend Antonio P. Palang, SVD was ordained bishop on May 31, 2002 at Saint Joseph Cathedral. His motto: Duc In Altum ("Put out into the deep." The vicariate's pastoral plan falls in line with its vision: "one true Christian community, united in worship, service and witness of Christ".
