Cathedral of St. William the Hermit

Cathedral of St. William the Hermit (San Fernando Cathedral, La Union) Catedral de San Guillermo el Ermitaño
Façade of San Fernando Cathedral
Basic information
Location	San Fernando, La Union,  Philippines
Geographic coordinates	16°21′56″N 120°11′24″E / 16.3656°N 120.19°E / 16.3656; 120.19Coordinates: 16°21′56″N 120°11′24″E / 16.3656°N 120.19°E / 16.3656; 120.19
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Status	active
Leadership	Diocesan Bishop
Architectural description
Architectural type	Cathedral
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Groundbreaking	1764
Completed	1817
Materials	cement and clay

The Cathedral of St. William the Hermit (Spanish: Catedral de San Guillermo el Ermitaño), also known as the San Fernando Cathedral, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, in the Philippines (Dioecesis Ferdinandopolitana ab Unione). The diocese, which comprise the civil province of La Union, was created on January 19, 1970 and canonically erected on April 11, 1970 with Saint William the Hermit as the titular saint. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Prior to the creation of the diocese, the church was formerly under the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia.

The cathedral is located in Barangay II (Poblacion), La Union. Its parish priests include Father Froilan A. Saluta & Fr. Samuel Joseph F. Banayat, Jr., and Parish Vicars, Father Manuel Ragil, Fr. Liberato A. Apusen and Father Gari Zaldy P. Patiag).

The Cathedral's patron saint is William the Hermit (or William the Great) (died 10 February 1157), the founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites, a branch of the Hermits of St. Augustine. The town feast is celebrated every February 10.

With the founding of San Fernando as a town in 1587, the mission of San Guillermo de Duladulang in 1590 was also decreed. In the barrio of San Vicente, Fr. Francisco Romero (OSA) and Fr. Santiago Olarte (OSA) initiated the building of a chapel (visita) in 1764. The friars moved the visita to Tanque and then to Kabaroan due to Mindanao’s moros and Visayan pintados raids.

In 1768, Fr. Juan Sorolla (OSA), Fr. Simon Guillermo (OSA), and Fr. Pedro Fernando (OSA) relocated the Church to its present site in the City of San Fernando. Later in 1817, Fr. Simon Torrado (OSA) erected another church and a convent.

St. William the Hermit Church was originally situated at Pindangan, now known as Barrio San Vicente. In 1759, Augustinian friar Padre Jose Torres convinced the two settlements to fuse into Pindangan (dry fish). He and the natives built a church under the patronage of Saint William the Hermit. In 1765, under its parish priest, Friar Fernando Rey, Pindangan was renamed San Fernando after the Catholic King of Spain.