The presbyterium has grown to 43 diocesan priests and 11 foreign missionaries.  There are 10 congregations of religious sisters working in different apostolates and ministries in the diocese.

The Most Reverend Zacharias C. Jimenez was consecrated bishop on January 6, 1995 and installed as Third Bishop of Pagadian.  His predecessors were Archbishop Jesus B. Tuquib of Cagayan de Oro, and Bishop Antonio Tobias.

The pastoral structure of the Diocese of Pagadian is organized into three areas of responsibility:  consultative, judicial and administrative.  Among its educational centers are 1 seminary, 1 college, 16 high schools and 6 pre-schools.

he Diocese of Pagadian comprises the City of Pagadian and 21 municipalities in the northern and eastern parts of Zamboanga del Sur.  It was created on November 2, 1971.  It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ozamiz, and its titular patron is the Santo Niño.

Like many other large provinces in the Philippines, the Zamboangas were just one province way back in the Spanish era.  As the population increased over the years, the large provinces had to be split up into two or three separate provinces for easier administration.

After World War II, the movement of people into the old province of Zamboanga was so great and so fast that it had to be divided into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur in 1952.  Dipolog is the capital city of Zamboanga del Norte while Pagadian is the capital of Zamboanga del Sur.

The two Zamboangas are separated by the Zamboanga Cordilleras which extend all the way down the Zamboanga Peninsula.  Of the two Zamboangas, Zamboanga del Sur is the more Visayas, the Cebuano dialect is more widely spoken than any other migrant dialect.

Rubber is the primary commercial crop.  Fishing is also extensive as an industry, considering the surrounding seas:  Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea and the Moro Gulf, which supplies tons and tons of tuna, anchovy and sardines.  There is also foreshore fishing from the nearby bays.  Food crops include rice, corn, vegetables and citrus.

With the ceding of the municipality of Margosatubig of the Ipil Prelature to the Diocese of Pagadian in January of 1995, the diocese now has 24 parishes under its jurisdiction.  The population covered by the diocese is now 711,244 of which 72 per cent are Catholics.  The area covered is 2,860 square kilometers.