The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rancagua (in Latin: ''Dioecesis Rancaguensis'') is a

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 ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

of the

Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Iacobi in Chile) is one of the five Latin Metropolitan sees of the Roman Catholic Church in Chile. Ecclesiastical province Its Suffragan sees are: * Roman Catholic D ...

. The diocese was established on 18 October 1925 as ''Diócesis de Santa Cruz de Rancagua'', by

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 ...

by means of the papal bull ''Apostolici muneris ratio''. The diocese is headed by

Guillermo Patricio Vera Soto Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player *Guillermo Ar� ...

, who was named Bishop by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on 8 June 2021.

Diocesan statistics

The diocese comprises the three provinces of the

O'Higgins Region The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region ( es, Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, ), often shortened to O'Higgins Region ( es, Región de O'Higgins), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is subdi ...

of Chile: Cachapoal, Colchagua and Cardenal Caro, with the exception of the ''comuna'' of Navidad, of the latter province, which belongs to the diocese of Melipilla. It covers a territory of and has 63

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es. It is estimated that 80 percent of the population of the diocese is Catholic. This figure represents about 625,000 Catholics out of a total population of 781,000 persons. The diocesan

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 ...

is located in the city of

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Santa ...

Bishops

Bishops of Rancagua

Coadjutor bishop

Alejandro Goić Karmelić Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander (Czech, Polish), Alexandre (French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander (Irish), Alessandro (Italian), Aleksandr (Russ ...

(2003–2004)

Auxiliary bishops

Raul Silva Silva 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 re ...

(1963–1994) *

Jorge Arturo Augustin Medina Estévez Jorge Arturo Agustín Medina Estévez (; 23 December 1926 – 3 October 2021) was a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions both in his native country and in the Roman Curia. He was prefect of the Congregation for Di ...

(1984–1987), appointed Bishop here; future Cardinal * Luis Gleisner Wobbe (1991–2001), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Serena

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Francisco de Borja Valenzuela Ríos Francisco de Borja Valenzuela Ríos (10 October 1917 – 20 February 1998) was a Chilean bishop. After his episcopal consecration, he headed the dioceses of Copiapó -at the time, a territorial prelature- (1956–57), Antofagasta (1957–74), Cala ...

, appointed Apostolic Administrator of Copiapó in 1955; appointed Prelate of Copiapó in 1956 *

Orozimbo Fuenzalida y Fuenzalida Orozimbo Fuenzalida y Fuenzalida (May 22, 1925 – March 27, 2013) was the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardo, Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the south ...

, appointed Prelate of Calama in 1968 *

Miguel Caviedes Medina --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disamb ...

, appointed Bishop of Osorno in 1982

External links

Website of the diocese

Christian organizations established in 1925 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Rancagua, Roman Catholic Diocese of 1925 establishments in Chile {{chile-RC-diocese-stub