Roman Catholic archdiocese in Paraguay
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Asunción (
Latin : Archidioecesis Sanctissimae Assumptionis ) is an ecclesiastical territory or
diocese of the
Roman Catholic Church in
Paraguay .
[1]
[2]
It was created as the Diocese of Paraguay by
Pope Paul III on July 1, 1547, and was elevated to the rank of a
metropolitan archdiocese by
Pope Pius XI on May 1, 1929, with the
suffragan sees of
Benjamín Aceval ,
Caacupé ,
Carapeguá ,
Ciudad del Este ,
Concepción ,
Coronel Oviedo ,
Encarnación ,
San Juan Bautista de las Misiones ,
San Lorenzo ,
San Pedro , and
Villarrica del Espíritu Santo .
The archdiocese's
mother church and thus seat of its archbishop is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. As the only metropolitan in Paraguay, it is the principal
episcopal see of that country. As of 2012
[update] the
Archbishop of Asunción was
Eustaquio Cuquejo Verga ,
CSSR , having been appointed by
Pope John Paul II on June 15, 2002. On Tuesday, November 8, 2011,
Pope Benedict XVI , appointed
Bishop
Edmundo Valenzuela ,
S.D.B. , as Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese. Until then he had served as
Vicar Apostolic of the
Apostolic Vicariate of Chaco Paraguayo , with the ecclesiastical rank of Bishop (Vicariates Apostolic are a type of jurisdiction that rank below a diocese). He was born in
Villarrica of Espiritu Santo, Paraguay , on November 19, 1944. He was ordained to the priesthood on April 3, 1971, as a member of the
Salesians of Don Bosco . He received a
licentiate in
theology from the
Salesian University in
Rome . At one time, he was a missionary in Angola (1991–2006). On February 13, 2006, he was named
Titular Bishop of
Uzal and appointed Vicar Apostolic of Chaco, Paraguay, receiving episcopal ordination on April 22, 2006. As part of the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay, he serves as Chairman of the Commission for Catholic Education. The archdiocese has 1.58 million Catholics (90.6%) in 2012.
Archbishop Valenzuela succeeded to the see on November 6, 2014.
Bishops
Ordinaries
Diocese of Paraguay
Erected: 1 July 1547
Latin Name: de Paraguay
Juan de los Barrios ,
O.F.M. (1547–1552), appointed Bishop of Santa Marta, Colombia
Pedro de la Torre ,
O.F.M. (1554–1573)
Alfonso Guerra (bishop) ,
O.P. (1579–1592), appointed Bishop of Michoacán, México
Thomas Vásquez de Liaño (1596–1599)
[3]
Martín Ignacio de Loyola (1601–1608)
[3]
Reginaldo de Lizárraga ,
O.P. (1609)
[3]
Lorenzo Pérez de Grado (1615–1619),
[3] appointed Bishop of Cuzco, Peru
Tomás de la Torre Gibaja ,
O.P. (1620–1628),
[3] appointed Bishop of Córdoba (Tucumán), Argentina
Cristóbal de Aresti Martínez de Aguilar ,
O.S.B. (1629–1635),
[3] appointed Bishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Francisco de la Serna ,
O.E.S.A. (1635–1638),
[3] appointed Bishop of Popayán, Colombia
Bernardino de Cárdenas Ponce ,
O.F.M. (1640–1666),
[3] appointed Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Gabriel de Guilléstegui ,
O.F.M. (1666–1670),
[3] appointed Bishop of La Paz, Bolivia
Ferdinandus de Valcácer (1672)
Faustino Casas Hernández ,
O. de M. (1674–1686)
Sebastián de Pastrana ,
O. de M. (1693–1700)
Pedro Díaz de Durana (1704–1718)
José Luis Palos Bord ,
O.F.M. (1724–1738)
José Cayetano Paravicino ,
O.F.M. (1738–1747), appointed Bishop of Trujillo, Peru
Bernardo José Pérez de Oblitas (1747–1756), appointed Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Manuel Antonio de la Torre (1756–1762), appointed Bishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Emmanuel López de Espinosa (1762–1770)
Juan José Priego y Caro ,
O.P. (1772–1779)
Luis Velasco y Maeda ,
O.F.M. (1779–1792)
Lorenzo Suarez de Cantillana (1797–1799)
Nicolás Videla del Pino (1802–1806), appointed Bishop of Salta, Argentina
Pedro García de Panés ,
O.F.M. (1807–1838)
Basilio López (1844–1859)
Juan Gregorio Urbieta (1860–1865)
Manuel Antonio Palacios (1865–1868)
Pietro Giovanni Aponte (1879–1891)
Juan Sinforiano Bogarín (1894–1949)
Archdiocese of Asunción
Elevated: 1 May 1929
Latin Name: Sanctissimae Assumptionis
Juan José Aníbal Mena Porta (1949–1970)
Ismael Blas Rolón Silvero ,
S.D.B. (1970–1989)
Felipe Santiago Benítez Ávalos (1989–2002)
Pastor Cuquejo ,
C.S.S.R. (2002–2014)
Edmundo Valenzuela , S.D.B. (2014– )
Coadjutor bishops
Auxiliary bishops
Marco Antonio Maiz (1844–1848)
Juan Gregorio Urbieta (1856–1860), appointed Bishop here
Juan José Aníbal Mena Porta (1936–1941), appointed Coadjutor here
Ramón Pastor Bogarín Argaña (1954–1957), appointed Bishop of San Juan Bautista de las Misiones
Aníbal Maricevich Fleitas (1957–1965), appointed Bishop of Concepción y Chaco
Felipe Santiago Benitez Avalos (1961–1965), appointed Bishop of Villarrica (later returned here as Archbishop)
Julio Benigno Laschi González (1965–1969)
Juan Moleón Andreu (1967–1972), appointed Bishop of Paraguay, Military
Jorge Adolfo Carlos Livieres Banks (1976–1987), appointed Prelate of Encarnación
Eustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga , C.SS.R. (1982–1992), appointed Bishop of Paraguay, Military (later returned here as Archbishop)
Claudio Giménez Medina , P. Schönstatt (1991–1995), appointed Bishop of Caacupé
Ricardo Jorge Valenzuela Rios (1993–2003), appointed Bishop of Paraguay, Military
Adalberto Martínez Flores (1997–2000), appointed Bishop of San Lorenzo
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
See also
References
External links
Province of Asunción Sui iuris jurisdictions
Barrios
(Neighborhoods) Landmarks
Religion and places of worship Palaces Skyscrapers and hotels
Icono Tower
Gran Hotel del Paraguay
Hotel Guaraní
La Misión Hotel Boutique
Granados Park Hotel
Sheraton Asunción
Crowne Plaza Asunción
The Excelsior Hotel
Asunción Palace
Museums and theatres Parks and squares
Parque Seminario
Ñu Guasú Park
Parque de la Salud
Parque Carlos A. Lopez
Plaza Italia
Plaza Uruguaya
Hospitals
Universidad Nacional de Asuncion Hospital de Clinicas
Hospital Central IPS
Hospital Bautista de Asunción
Economy and transport Education Sports
History and culture People
25°16′54″S 57°37′57″W / 25.2816°S 57.6325°W / -25.2816; -57.6325