The Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or

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 ...

of the Catholic Church in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

."Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala"
''GCatholic.org.'' Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org.'' David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016 It is a

primatial Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (ti ...

metropolitan see with six

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

s in its ecclesiastical province.

Special churches

Its cathedral is the '' Catedral Primada Metropolitana de Santiago'', is the

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

in the national capital Ciudad de Guatemala. It also has * the former Cathedral, a World Heritage Site: Catedral de San José, Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez * a Minor Basilica, National Shrine: Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala * other National Shrine: Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande, Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez * further Shrines: Santuario Arquidiocesano del Señor San José, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala and Santuario Expiatorio al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

History

* It was erected 18 December 1534, as the Diocese of Guatemala, on territory split off from the then

Diocese of Santo Domingo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Sancti Dominici; es, Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Santo Domingo) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in the Dominican Republic. The see was erected ...

. * On 1561.06.21 it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Vera Paz * It was elevated to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Guatemala on 16 December 1743. * It lost territory repeatedly : on 1842.09.28 to establish the then Diocese of San Salvador, on 1921.07.27 to establish the then

Roman Catholic Diocese of Quetzaltenango, Los Altos Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

(now also a metropolitan archdiocese) and the then

Apostolic Vicariate of Verapaz and Petén The Roman Catholic Diocese of Verapaz (also Vera Paz, Cobán) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Guatemala. Its cathedral episcopal see is the Catedral de Santo Domingo de Guzman, dedicated to Sai ...

, on 1951.03.10 to establish the dioceses of

Jalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...

(its suffragan), Sololá and the Zacapa, on 1969.05.09 to establish

Territorial Prelature of Escuintla The Diocese of Escuintla is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Guatemala. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Guatemala. The Diocese of Escuintl ...

and on 1996.04.27 to establish its suffragan Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima. * It enjoyed papal visits from Pope John Paul II in March 1983, February 1996 and July 2002. * It was renamed on 23 April 2013 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala

Province

Its ecclesiastical province comprises the Metropolitan's own Archbishopric and the following

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 ...

bishoprics : *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Escuintla The Diocese of Escuintla is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Guatemala. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Guatemala. The Diocese of Escuintla w ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalapa The Diocese of Jalapa is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Guatemala. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala. I ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Francisco de Asís de Jutiapa The Diocese of San Francisco de Asís de Jutiapa is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Guatemala. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala. T ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima (erected 27 April 1996) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Guatemala. Ordinaries *Julio Amílcar Bethancourt Fioravanti Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer t ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Verapaz, Cobán *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Zacapa y Santo Cristo de Esquipulas The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zacapa (y Santo Cristo de Esquipulas) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Guatemala. Its cathedral episcopal see is catedral San Pedro (dedicated to saint Peter), in Za ...

Episcopal ordinaries

;Bishops of Guatemala ;Archbishops of Guatemala ;Archbishops of Santiago de Guatemala * Óscar Julio Vian Morales,

S.D.B. , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

(''see above'' April 25, 2013 – February 24, 2018) * Gonzalo de Villa y Vásquez, S.J. (July 9, 2020 – present)

Coadjutor bishops

Fernando Ortiz de Hinojosa Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

(1598); did not take effect * Francisco de Paul García Peláez (1843–1845) *

Mario Casariego y Acevedo Mario Casariego y Acevedo, CRS (13 February 1909 – 15 June 1983) was a Spanish-born Guatemalan Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Guatemala City from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate ...

, C.R.S. (1963–1964); future Cardinal

Auxiliary bishops

* Miguel Cilieza y Velasco (1765–1767), appointed Bishop of Chiapas (Ciudad Real de Chiapas) * Antonio Larrazábal (1839–1846), never consecrated *

Juan Félix de Jesús Zepeda ''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 ...

, O.F.M. Obs. (1859–1861), appointed Bishop of Comayagua, Honduras *

Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol (Guatemala City, 29 August 1792 – Guatemala City, 17 February 1865) was an ecclesiastical and intellectual conservative in Central America. He was President of the Pontifical University of San Carlos Borrome ...

(1859–1865) * osé María Barrutia y Croquer (1859–1864) * Emmanuele Francesco Barrutia y Croquer (1865–1879) * Miguel Angel García y Aráuz (1944–1951), appointed Bishop of Jalapa * Rafael González Estrada (1955–1984) *

, C.R.S. (1958–1963), appointed Coadjutor here; future Cardinal *

José Ramiro Pellecer Samayoa José Ramiro Pellecer Samayoa (10 October 1929 – 14 March 2022) was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop. Pellecer Samayoa was born in Guatemala and was ordained to the priesthood in 1954. He served as titular bishop of '' Teglat ...

(1967–2010) *

James Richard Ham James Richard Ham (July 11, 1921 – December 20, 2002) was a Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of ''Putia in Numidia'' and Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ham was ordered a priest for the M ...

, M.M. (1967–1979) * Luis Mario Martínez de Lejarza Valle, S.J. (1968–1980) * Eduardo Ernesto Fuentes Duarte (1980–1982), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Sololá *

Julio Amílcar Bethancourt Fioravanti Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: * Julio (given name) * Julio (surname) * Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation a ...

(1982–1984), appointed Bishop of San Marcos *

Juan José Gerardi Conedera Juan José Gerardi Conedera (27 December 1922 – 26 April 1998) was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop and human rights defender who was long active in working with the indigenous Mayan peoples of the country. In the 1970s he gained governmen ...

(1984–1998) * Mario Enrique Ríos Mont, C.M. (1987–2010) *

Gonzalo de Villa y Vásquez Gonzalo may refer to: * Gonzalo (name) * Gonzalo, Dominican Republic, a small town * Isla Gonzalo, a subantarctic island operated by the Chilean Navy * Hurricane Gonzalo, 2014 See also * Gonzalez (disambiguation) * Gonzales (disambiguat ...

, S.J. (2004–2007), appointed Bishop of Sololá-Chimaltenango * Gustavo Rodolfo Mendoza Hernández (2004–2016) *

Raúl Antonio Martinez Paredes Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may r ...

(2007–) * José Cayetano Parra Novo, O.P. (2016–)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Jorge de Viteri y Ungo José Jorge de Viteri y Ungo (24 April 1802 – 25 July 1853) was a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic bishop who served as the first Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, Bishop of San Salvador from 1843 until 1849, when he was appointed ...

, appointed Bishop of San Salvador in 1843 * José Cándido Piñol y Batres, appointed Bishop of Granada, Nicaragua in 1913 *

Jorge García Caballeros Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius' ...

, appointed Bishop of Quetzaltenango, Los Altos in 1928 *

Pablo Vizcaíno Prado Pablo Vizcaíno Prado (born June 22, 1951 in Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops ar ...

, appointed Bishop of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu in 1996 * Victor Hugo Palma Paúl, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Escuintla in 2001 * Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, appointed Bishop of San Marcos in 2008; elevated as Cardinal in 2019 *

Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gómez Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gómez (18 March 1955 – 9 May 2018) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Trinidad Gómez was born in Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a coun ...

, appointed Bishop of San Marcos in 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guatemala, Archdiocese of Santiago de

Santiago de Guatemala Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala ("St. James of the Knights of Guatemala") was the name given to the capital city of the Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Guatemala in Central America. History ;Quauhtemallan — Guatemala :The name was ...

1534 establishments in the Spanish Empire Religious organizations established in the 1530s Roman Catholic dioceses established in the 16th century A