The Catholic Church in the Philippines (Filipino: Simbahang Katolika sa Pilipinas; Spanish: Iglesia Católica en las Filipinas) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual direction of the Pope. The Philippines is one of the two nations in Asia having a substantial portion of the population professing the Catholic faith, along with East Timor, and has the third largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil and Mexico.[1] The episcopal conference responsible in governing the faith is the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. Christianity was first brought to the Philippine islands by Spanish missionaries and settlers, who arrived in waves beginning in the early 16th century in Cebu. Compared to the Spanish Era, when Christianity was recognized as the state religion, the faith today is practiced in the context of a secular state. In 2015, it was estimated that 84 million Filipinos, or roughly 82.9% to 85% of the population, profess the Catholic faith
