The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Acapulco ( la, Archidioecesis Acapulcana) is a

Latin rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

's southwestern

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

state. 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 ...

archiepiscopal see is Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, dedicated to

Our Lady of Solitude Our Lady of Solitude ( es, María de la Soledad; pt, Nossa Senhora da Soledade) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus and a special form of Marian devotion practised in Spanish-speaking countries to commemorate the solitude of Mary on Holy Satur ...

, in the touristic port city of

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

. It is currently led by Archbishop

Leopoldo González González Leopoldo González González (born October 31, 1950) is the current archbishop of Acapulco, Mexico. González was born on October 31, 1950, in Abasolo, Guanajuato, Mexico. He attended primary school in Abasolo. On January 1, 1964, shortly befor ...

History

* The Diocese of Acapulco / Acapulcan(us) (Latin) was erected on 18 March 1958, on territory split off from the then

Diocese of Chilapa The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chilpancingo–Chilapa ( la, Dioecesis Chilpancingensis–Chilapensis) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Acapulco. History The former Diocese of Chilapa in southern Mexico comprised the State of Guerrero. ...

(now its suffragan as Diocese of Chilpancingo–Chilapa) * On 1964.10.27 it lost territory to establish Diocese of Ciudad Altamirano, now its

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

. * It was elevated on 10 February 1983 to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Acapulco.

Statistics

As of 2014, the archdiocese pastorally served 2,039,000 Catholics (76.9% of 2,650,000 total) on 18,000 km² in 78 parishes and 4 missions with 132 priests (107 diocesan, 25 religious), 19 deacons, 152 lay religious (30 brothers, 122 sisters) and 33 seminarians.

Bishops

(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 ...

native Mexicans)

Episcopal Ordinaries

;''Suffragan Bishops of Acapulco'' * José del Pilar Quezada Valdez (1958.12.18 – retired 1976.06.01), died 1985 *

Rafael Bello Ruiz Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...

(1976.06.01 – 1983.02.10 ''see below''), succeeding as previous

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 Segia (1974.02.12 – 1976.06.01) and Auxiliary Bishop of Acapulco (1974.02.12 – 1976.06.01) ;''Metropolitan Archbishops of Acapulco'' *

(''see above'' 1983.02.10 – retired 2001.05.08), died 2008 *

Felipe Aguirre Franco Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy ...

(2001.05.08 – retired 2010.06.07), previously

Otricoli Otricoli is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Terni, Umbria, central Italy. It is located on the Via Flaminia, near the east bank of the Tiber, some 70 km north of Rome and 20 km south of Narni. History Anciently named Ocriculu ...

(1974.03.12 – 1988.04.28) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the most developed and populated in the state. A busy government, commercial and servi ...

(Mexico) (1974.03.12 – 1988.04.28), succeeding as Bishop of Tuxtla Gutiérrez (1988.04.28 – 2000.06.30),

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

of Acapulco (2000.06.30 – succession 2001.05.08) ** Auxiliary Bishop : Juan Navarro Castellanos (2004.01.31 – 2009.02.12), Titular Bishop of

Caput Cilla Caput Cilla, an Ancient city and former bishopric in Roman North Africa, is now a Latin Catholic titular see. Its presumed location are the ruins of El-Gouéa, in modern Algeria. History Caput Cilla was important enough in the Roman province of ...

(2004.01.31 – 2009.02.12); next Bishop of

Tuxpan Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 78,523 and of the municipality was 134,394 inhabitants, according to the INEGI census o ...

(Mexico) (2009.02.12 – ...) *

Carlos Garfias Merlos Carlos Garfias Merlos (born 1 January 1951) is a Mexican prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Morelia since 2016. Biography Carlos Garfias Merlos was born in Tuxpan, Michoacán, on 1 January 1951. He studied humanities, ...

(2010.06.07 – retired 2016.11.05), previously Bishop of Ciudad Altamirano (Mexico) (1996.06.24 – 2003.07.08), Bishop of Nezahualcóyotl (Mexico) (2003.07.08 – 2010.06.07); next Metropolitan Archbishop of

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

(Mexico) (2016.11.05 – ...) *

(2017.06.30 – ...), previously Titular Bishop of Voncaria (1999.03.18 – 2005.06.09) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Morelia (Mexico) (1999.03.18 – 2005.06.09), Bishop of

Tapachula Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, simply known as Tapachula, is a city and municipality located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas in Mexico, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most important cities of ...

(Mexico) (2005.06.09 – 2017.06.30).

Coadjutor bishop

(2000–2001)

Auxiliary bishops

(1974–1976), appointed Bishop here *

Juan Navarro Castellanos ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

(2004–2009), appointed Bishop of Tuxpan, Veracruz

Ecclesiastical province

The Metropolitan's

sees are : *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chilpancingo–Chilapa ( la, Dioecesis Chilpancingensis–Chilapensis) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Acapulco. History The former Diocese of Chilapa in southern Mexico comprised the State of Guerrero. ...

, its mother (then as Diocese of Chilapa) * Diocese of Ciudad Altamirano, its daughter *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tlapa The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tlapa ( la, Dioecesis Tlapensis) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Acapulco. Ordinaries *Alejo Zavala Castro (1992 - 2005), appointed Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, Guerrero *Oscar Roberto Domínguez Cout ...

Sources and external links

GCatholic - data for all sections

retrieved July 14, 2006 Roman Catholic dioceses in Mexico * Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces in Mexico Acapulco Religious organizations established in 1958 1958 establishments in Mexico {{Mexico-RC-diocese-stub