In 1700s, Calbayog appears as a visita of Capul Island in the documents of this century. The Jesuits did not build a stone church in Calbayog. Ceded to the Franciscans with the rest of western Samar in 1768, Calbayog was attended to by Franciscans who resided in the neighboring towns. In 1785, it was raised to parish status almost two decades after the Jesuits had left but still it had no resident priest until 1788 when Calbayog had its first Franciscan pastor—Fray Benito del Carmen. The oldest canonical books as of 1884 was dated to 1808. An irony of history: Calbayog once a lowly visita is now the seat of a diocese. By decree of Saint Pope Pius X, the island provinces of Samar and Leyte were erected as the Diocese of Calbayog, separated from Cebu on April 10, 1910. Then, in 1914, the Franciscans ceded parish administration to the secular clergy.