Christianity, through Catholicism, was first brought to the Philippine islands by Spanish pirates, missionaries and settlers, who arrived in waves beginning in the early 16th century in Cebu by way of colonization.

[1] Starting in the 16th century Spanish pirates and settlers arrived in the Philippines with two major goals: to participate in the spice trade which was previously dominated by Portugal, and to evangelize nearby civilizations, such as China.

A verified Mass was held at the island-port of Mazaua (present-day Limasawa) as recorded by the Venetian diarist Antonio Pigafetta, who travelled to the islands in 1521 on the Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan.

Missionary Fray Alfonso Jimenez OSA traveled into the Camarines region through the islands of Masbate, Leyte, Samar, and Burias and centered the church on Naga City.

By 1571 Fray Herrera, who was assigned as chaplain of Legazpi, advanced further north from Panay and founded the local church community in Manila.

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

Missionaries disapproved of these because they felt bride-price was an act of selling one's daughter, and labor services in the household of the father allowed premarital sex between the bride and groom, which contradicted Christian beliefs.

Pre-conquest, the natives had followed a variety of monotheistic and polytheistic faiths, often localized forms of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam or Tantrism mixed with Animism.

This was also due to the fact that the route to the Philippines was a rigorous journey, and some clergy fell ill or waited years for an opportunity to travel there.

The Philippines is home to many of the world's major religious congregations, these include the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus, the Redemptorists, Augustinians, Recollects, Jesuits, Dominicans, Benedictines, Franciscans, Carmelites, Divine Word Missionaries, De La Salle Christian Brothers, Salesians of Don Bosco, the indigenous Religious of the Virgin Mary, and Clerics Regular of St. Paul are known as Barnabites.

The Christian conquest had not reached[citation needed] Mindanao due to a highly resistant Muslim community that existed pre-conquest.

They were also spread far enough to allow for one cabecera or capital parish, and small visita chapels located throughout the villages in which clergy only stayed temporarily for Mass, rituals, or nuptials.

[8] The Filipinos to an extent resisted Christianisation because they felt an agricultural obligation and connection with their rice fields: large villages took away their resources and they feared the compact environment.

This prompted bishops to ask for non-Spanish Religious Congregations to set up foundations in the Philippines and help augment the lack of pastors.

Classes in Catholic schools run by religious orders resumed, with American priests specializing in academic and scientific fields fulfilling faculty roles until the mid-1970s.

With the guarantee of religious freedom in the Philippines, the Catholic clergy subsequently remained in the political background as a source of moral influence, especially during elections.

[17][failed verification] At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mass gatherings were prohibited as part of community quarantines to contain the virus; this prompted the Church to broadcast most liturgical services and spiritual activities through the Internet, television, and radio,[18][19] and the CBCP allowed bishops to dispense the faithful from Sunday obligation.

[118][119] In early 2023, claims regarding Freemasons distributing Holy Communion in some parishes prompted the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines to restate its stance on "the unacceptability of Masonry, given its serious errors".

Some seven million people responded in the non-violent revolution which lasted from February 22–25, effectively driving Marcos out of power and into exile in Hawaii.

[125] In 1989, President Corazon Aquino asked Vidal to convince General Jose Comendador, who was sympathetic to the rebel forces fighting her government, to peacefully surrender.

Vidal personally asked Estrada to step down, to which he agreed at around 12:20 p.m. of January 20, 2001, after five continuous days of protest at the EDSA Shrine, and various parts of the Philippines and the world.

[127] On the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared three days of national mourning and was one of many dignitaries at his funeral in Vatican City.

Arroyo's press secretary Ignacio Bunye called the bishops and priests who attended an anti-Arroyo protest as hypocrites and "people who hide their true plans".

The Catholic Church in the Philippines strongly opposed the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, commonly known as the RH Bill.

[130] Members of the CBCP vehemently denounced and repeatedly attempted to block[131] President Benigno Aquino III's plan to push for the passage of the reproductive health bill.

[132][133] The bill, which was popular among the public, was signed into law by Aquino, and was seen as a point of waning moral and political influence of the Catholic Church in the country.

[135] Efforts by the church to rally public support against the administration's war on drugs were less effective due to Duterte's popularity and high trust rating.

With Spanish regalia, indigenous miracle stories, and Asian facial features, Filipino Catholics have created hybridized, localized images, the popular devotions to which have been recognized by various Popes.

Filipino Marian images with an established devotion have generally received a Canonical Coronation, with the icon's principal shrine being customarily elevated to the status of minor basilica.

[149] Filipinos have established two shrines in the Chicago Metropolitan Area: one at St. Wenceslaus Church dedicated to Santo Niño de Cebú and another at St. Hedwig's with its statue to Our Lady of Manaoag.