The Diocese of Cebu in the 1700s had jurisdiction over all the islands and provinces of the Visayas and Mindanao, even reaching to the Marianas Islands.
The parishes were administered by missionaries coming from the orders of the Augustinians, Franciscans, Jesuits, Recollects, and the secular clergy.
The list is taken from the book of Fr. Felipe Redondo in 1886:
Hermenegildo Villa, Secular Clergy, Dumanjug, Cebu.
Erected as a parish by diocesan decree on Mach 28, 1854 under the patronage of St. Francis of Assisi. Its mother parish was Barili. It had a visita with a church at Bitoon under the patronage of St. Vincent Ferrer.
Fr. Apolonio Ramirez, Recollect, Garcia-Hernandez, Bohol.
Erected as a parish by diocesan decree on October 26, 1859 under the patronage of St. John the Baptist. It separated from its mother parish, Jagna.
Fr. Pablo Navarro, Getafe, Bohol.
Erected as a parish by diocesan decree on July 20, 1876 through royal approval on October 12, 1875 under the patronage of Santo Nino de Napoles. Its mother parish was Inabanga.
Esteban Yepez, Jesuit, Guigaquit, Surigao.
It was erected as a parish by diocesan decree under the patronage of St. Augustine on December 14, 1850. Its rectory was destroyed by the typhoon of 1883.
Cipriano Llopis, Secular Clergy, Ginatilan, Cebu.
Established as a parish by diocesan decree on October 5, 1847, through superior approval on August 9, 1857. It is under the patronage of St. Gregory the Great. It separated from its mother parish Sambuan (Samboan).
Fr. Lorenzo Hernandez, Recollect, Guindulman, Bohol.
Erected as a parish by royal approval on May 1797 under the patronage of Our Lady of Consolacion, but separated ecclesiastically from Jagna in 1798.
Fr. Agustin Delgado, Franciscan, Guian, Samar.
It owes its founding to the Society of Jesus Missionaries who turned it over to the Augustinian Fathers in 1768. It is under the patronage of the Immaculate Concepcion of the Virgin Mary. In 1795 it was ceded to the Franciscan Fathers who took possession of this parish in 1804.
Fr. Vicente Pelaz, Franciscan, Hernani, Samar
Also called as Nagas. Erected as a parish under the patronage of Our Lady of Sorrow, by diocesan decree of January 4, 1864. Its mother parish is Lanang.
Fr. Juan Ruiz, Recollect, Iligan, Misamis.
At present, Iligan is part of the province of Lanao del Norte. It was created in 1856 under the patronage of St. Michael Archangel. Its mother parish is Misamis. It was administered in its early years by the Jesuit fathers. (To be continued)