The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of San Miguel de Sucumbíos ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Sancti Michaëlis de Sucumbios) is a missionary entity 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 ...
. Its cathedral see, the Catedral Nuestra Señora del Cisne, is located in the city of
Nueva Loja
Nueva Loja (), also known as ''Lago Agrio'', is the capital of the province of Sucumbíos in Ecuador. It was founded in the 1960s as a base camp of Texaco. The official population as of the 2010 census is 57,727.
Overview
Nueva Loja is located ...
,
Sucumbíos Province
Sucumbíos () is a province in northeast Ecuador. The capital and largest city is Nueva Loja (normally referred to as Lago Agrio). It is the fifth largest province in the country, with an area of 18,084 km2. In 2010, it had a population o ...
in
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 ...
.
History
On 16 April 1924
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
established the
Prefecture Apostolic
An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...
of San Miguel de Sucumbíos from the
Apostolic Vicariate of Napo
The Apostolic Vicariate (Vicariate Apostolic) of Napo ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Napensis) is a missionary circonscription (quasi-diocese) of the Roman Catholic Church. Its cathedral see, Catedral San José, is located in the city of Tena, capi ...
.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
elevated it to an
Apostolic Vicariate on 2 July 1984.
It remains exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of an ecclesiastical province.
Nomination conflict with the Ecuadorian state
In October 2010, after López Marañon of the
Discalced Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...
retired at the mandatory age of 75, the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
appointed
Rafael Ibarguren, of the
Heralds of the Gospel as
Apostolic Administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
(''ad interim'' for the Ordinary) of the Vicariate Apostolic. Ecuadorian President
Rafael Correa
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963), known as Rafael Correa, is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as President of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation ...
objected to the nomination as he considered Ibarguren 'ultraconservative and fundamentalist', he also feared that Ibarguren would destroy all the social work his predecessor had achieved.
Correa asserted that he could veto the nomination of Ibarguren on the basis of a ''
Modus vivendi'' agreement between Ecuador and the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
. The
Episcopal Conference of Ecuador asserted otherwise. Relations between the two entities were strained and believers within Sucumbíos were divided in those supporting the Heralds of the Gospel and those who did not.
[
On 5 December 2011, ]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 ...
named Paolo Mietto
Paolo Mietto (26 May 1934 – 25 May 2020) was an Italian-born Ecuadorian Roman Catholic bishop.
Mietto was born in Italy and was ordained to the priesthood in 1963. He served as titular bishop of ''Muzuca in Byzacena'' and as coadjutor vicar ...
Apolostic Administrator.Congregation of Saint Joseph
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
*Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...
was succeeded by a fellow Josephite Celmo Lazzari, the former Apostolic Vicar of neighbouring 'mother vicariate' Napo, as Apostolic vicar.
Incumbent Ordinaries
;Apostolic prefects (all Discalced Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...
(O.C.D.)
*Pacifico del Carmine, O.C.D. † (21 May 1937 – 1954)
*Manuel Gomez Frande, O.C.D. † (18 November 1955 – 1968)
* Gonzalo López Marañon, O.C.D. † (26 June 1970 – ''see below)
;Apostolic vicars
* Gonzalo López Marañon, O.C.D. † (''see above'' – 30 October 2010)
*''Apostolic Administrator'' Rafael Ibarguren Schindler (30 October 2010 – 10 February 2012)
*''Apostolic Administrator'' Paolo Mietto, C.S.I. (10 February 2012 – 21 November 2013)
* Celmo Lazzari, C.S.I. (21 November 2013 – incumbent)
See also
* Roman Catholicism in Ecuador
The Catholic Church in Ecuador comprises only a Latin hierarchy, united in a national episcopal conference, which comprises:
* four ecclesiastical provinces, each province is headed by the Metropolitanan archbishop of an archdiocese, and a total of ...
Sources and References
Roman Catholic dioceses in Ecuador
Christian organizations established in 1924
{{Ecuador-RC-diocese-stub