Located in the middle of berlin and arana streets in the city of naga, camarines sur, plaza berlin is

one of the plaza found in this historic places. The street and plaza with this monument was named to
honour Mosignor Jorge Barlin

1. page 32, Tracing from Solsogon to Sorsogon, 2nd Edition (2007), ISBN 978-971-
814-099-4
2. "Rev Fr Jorge Alfonso Imperial Barlin". Find a Grave. Retrieved March
27, 2016.
3. "The Philippines: "Arsenal of Faith, Deposit of Christianity in the East"". Pope
Francis Papal Visit 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
4. Team, i-Governance. "See what Naga has to offer « Dagos po sa Maogmang
Naga". Retrieved Oct 2, 2019.
5. "National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines". National
Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines.

Jorge Barlin was ordained priest when he was 28 years old, at a time when the Catholic
Church, headed by Spanish friars, was persecuting Filipino priests. His rise to that
exalted ecclesiastical post was not only a personal triumph but also the fulfillment as well
of every Filipino Catholic priest's aspiration. It, too, was a triumph of the Filipino people,
of a race that had been considered inferior for over 300 years by a regime which had
itself brought Catholicism into the country.

Jorge Barlin (April 23, 1850, Baao, Camarines Sur, Philippines – September 4,
1909, Rome, Italy) also known as Jorge Barlin Imperial, Jorge Alfonso Imperial
Barlin and Jorge Barlin y Imperial following Spanish naming customs, was the
first Filipino consecrated a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. He served as
Archbishop of Caceres in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Caceres in
the Philippines until 1909. He was the first Filipino and Bicolano bishop and was
parish priest and Vicar Forane of Sorsogon from 1887 to 1906.[1]
Life

Barlin was born April 23, 1850 in Baao, Camarines Sur, the Philippines to Mateo
Alfonso Barlin and Francisca Imperial and died in Rome, Italy in 1909.[2]
He was ordained a priest on September 19, 1875 and consecrated a bishop on June
29, 1906 by Archbishop Ambrose Agius, O.S.B. along with co-consecrators
Archbishop Jeremiah James Harty and Bishop Frederick Zadok Rooker.[2] "Barlin
proved very capable and loyal, dealing a blow to the schismatic Iglesia Filipinia
Independiente by resisting its recruitment efforts and winning a court battle over
church property," according to Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.[3]
He died and was interred in that holy city.[2] Attempts to have his body returned to
the Philippines were not successful.[2]
There is a monument commemorating Jorge Barlin called Plaza Barlin in Naga,
Camarines Sur [4]
There is another monument of Jorge Barlin in his hometown's plaza, Baao,
Camarines Sur.[5]
See also

Beyond Plaza Rizal is the Jorge Barlin monument at the corner of Calle Elcano (now
Barlin Street) and Arana Street

Barlin was the first Filipino Catholic bishop in the country. He was born in Baao,
Camarines Sur in 1850.

After his ordination in 1875, he became the capellan de solio (chaplain) of Nueva
Caceres Cathedral, later becoming the vicar forane of the province of Sorsogon and
parish priest of Sorsogon town.

Behind Barlin’s monument is the site of what used to be Cuartel de Guardia Civil, now
occupied by the local police. Beside it was the hideout of the revolutionary Vicente
Lucban and the site of Hospital Medalla Milagrosa.

A few blocks away is the religious center of Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, the Seminario,
and what used to be the site of Escuela Comun in front of the church compound.

Beside the plaza and the weird-looking black cathedral are the Archbishop’s Palace and
the 1870 Colegio de Santa Isabel (now USI), the first normal school for girls in the
country.

The tour ended at Plaza San Francisco (now Plaza Quince Martires), passing
Administracion del Coreo (ruins of the American-era jail) and Imprenta.

The monument pays homage to 15 Bicol martyrs who were unjustly charged with plotting
to kill the Spaniards in various parts of the Bicol peninsula. They were executed by firing
squad at Luneta on Jan. 4, 1897. Their remains were never found.

Read more: https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/233033/naga-holds-cultural-heritage-walking-

tour-of-the-old-nueva-caceres/#ixzz61UOapwTI
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

According to known Bikolano historian Dr. Domingo Abella, ”Msgr. Jorge Barlin was not only the
first Bicolano Churchman to have been elevated to the episcopacy, and the first native of his
diocese to occupy its tercentenarian see; he was not only the 'first Filipino Bishop under the
American regime,' as most writers call him-he was, we maintain, the first Filipino bishop of all
times.”

This is the heroism of Jorge Barlin when he broke the glass ceiling imposed by foreigners on our
race.