The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Galápagos ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Galapagensis) is a missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, located on the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

off the Pacific coast of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, coinciding with the homonymous insular province. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

see is the Marian 'Catedral La Inmaculada', dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, in

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Puerto Baquerizo Moreno () is the capital of Galápagos Province, Ecuador. It is located on the southwestern coast of San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the archipelago, and is the capital of San Cristóbal Canton. It was founded by Gene ...

, on

San Cristóbal Island San Cristóbal Island ( es, Isla San Cristóbal) and named previously by the English as ''Chatham Island'', is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part ...

. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

. It comprises ten parishes, which serve both locals and tourists to the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

natural reserve.

History

On 6 May 1950,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

established the Apostolic Prefecture of Galápagos on territory split off from the Diocese of Guayaquil.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

elevated it to an Apostolic Vicariate of Galápagos on 15 July 2008.

Incumbent Ordinaries

(all

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

) So far, all incumbents have been

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

(O.F.M.) ;''Apostolic Prefects of Galápagos'' * Pedro Pablo Andrade Sanchez, O.F.M. † (1951–1959). Nacido en Quito - Ecuador (30 de junio de 1892 - 22 de noviembre de 1973 ) con el nombre de Luis Reinaldo Andrade Sánchez, fue hijo de Dr. Federico Estanislao Andrade Jaramillo y de la señora Victoria Sánchez Corral. Toma los hábitos el 5 de mayo de 1912. Fuente: Provincia de San Francisco de Quito. Sus hermanos fueron: Ricardo, Guillermo Enrique, Cornelio Estanislao, Gabriel Ignacio, Srta. Lucía Andrade Sánchez. * Juan de Dios Campuzano, O.F.M. † (20 Nov. 1959 – 30 Oct. 1967) * Hugolino Cerasuolo Stacey, O.F.M. (3 Oct. 1967 – 30 May 1975) * Serafín Luis Alberto Cartagena Ocaña, O.F.M. (17 May 1980 – 10 Sep. 1982) * Manuel Antonio Valarezo Luzuriaga, O.F.M. (22 June 1990 – ''15 July 2008, cfr. infra) ;''Apostolic Vicars of Galápagos'' * Manuel Antonio Valarezo Luzuriaga, O.F.M. (''cfr. supra'' 15 July 2008 – 29 October 2013),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Quæstoriana (1996.04.22 – ...) * Áureo Patricio Bonilla Bonilla, O.F.M., former Vicar Provincial of the Order of Friars Minor in Ecuador, titular bishop of Bida (29 October 2013 – ...).

References

Sources and external links

* http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/esme0.htm Apostolic vicariates Roman Catholic dioceses in Ecuador Christian organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in Ecuador Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Galápagos Islands {{Ecuador-stub

History

Incumbent Ordinaries

See also

References

Sources and external links