[11] The church anchored in that year[12] by the native Cebuanos' profession of faith in Christ,[13] baptism,[14] the daily celebration of the Mass,[15] and the chaplain of the expedition, Pedro Valderrama being the legitimate pastor for their spiritual needs.

[18] The first Christian marriage transpired with Isabel, the niece of Rajah Tupas and Andres, the Greek caulker of Legazpi, and their children baptized representing the first infant baptisms.

[19] However, immediately after its inception during the aftermath of the Battle of Mactan, the Church of Cebu experienced decadence due to lack of shepherds to enforce and edify the natives on the faith.

The remnant of the Cebuano Church in 1521, as evident in the person of Rajah Tupas, was resuscitated by the Augustinians as an abbey nullius (an equivalent of a diocese)[20] when the formal evangelization of the Philippines commenced with Urdaneta as the first prelate.

The church expanded from Cebu when the remaining missionaries led by Diego de Herrera were forced northwest temporarily due to conflict with the Portuguese and laid the foundations of the Christian community in Panay in around 1569.

A notable missionary was Alfonso Jimenez, who travelled and penetrated the Camarines region through the islands of Masbate, Leyte, Samar, and Burias and founded the church there.

[4][7] In 1572, the Spaniards led by Juan de Salcedo marched from Manila further north with the second batch of Augustinian missionaries and pioneered the evangelization to the communities in the Ilocos (starting with Vigan) and the Cagayan regions.

[4][26] As a diocese, Cebú had a very extensive territory which then included the whole of the Visayas, Mindanao[11] and "more southern islands";[27] also it extended farther to the Pacific such as the Marianas,[28] Carolines, and Palau.

[29] However, it lost territory repeatedly: On April 28, 1934, Pope Pius XI promulgated an apostolic constitution with the incipit Romanorum Pontificum semper separating the dioceses of Cebu, Calbayog, Jaro, Bacolod, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro from the ecclesiastical province of Manila.

In his Homily for Families (February 19, 1981), the supreme pontiff called the island as the birthplace of the faith: Finding myself in this important city known as the cradle of Christianity in the Philippines, I want to express my deep joy and profound thanksgiving to the Lord of history.

[31]Between November 10, 1985, and March 1, 1986, the archdiocese held its Fourth Diocesan Synod of Cebu at the Seminaryo Mayor de San Carlos.

[34] The archdiocese coined the term "Sugbuswak", derived from "Cebu" and the Cebuano word "buswak", referring to the flowering or blossoming of new dioceses.

The territory of the metropolitan archdiocese would be reduced to the central part of the province, including Cebu City and its neighboring towns, as well as the island of Mactan.

[32] During its 126th Plenary Assembly in Kalibo, Aklan in July 2023, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) unanimously approved the planned division of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

The upward, arrow tip-like shape of the blue field can be understood as a reminder to the Cebuano faithful that a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary inevitably leads to a greater love for her Divine Son, Our Lord.