The Military Bishopric of the Dominican Republic ( es, Obispado Castrense de República Dominicana) is a

military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

(quasi-diocese) 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 ...

. It is exempt, i.e. immediately subject to 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 ...

, 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’s Cathedral Church is the Catedral Castrense Santa Bárbara de los hombres de la mar, a colonial Eclectic Catholic cathedral located in the Ciudad Colonial of Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic.

Statistics

As per 2014 it provides

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...

to Roman Catholics serving in the

Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic The Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de la República Dominicana) are the military forces of the Dominican Republic. They consist of approximately 56,000 active duty personnel. The president is the commander in chief o ...

and their families in 47 (garrison?) parishes with 64 priests (62 diocesan, 2 religious) and 2 lay religious brothers.

History

* It was established as Military Vicariate of Dominican Republic on 23 January 1958 and elevated on 21 July 1986 to Military Ordinariate of Dominican Republic. * It remains generally vested in the national capital's

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 (t ...

Archdiocese 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 ...

, being headquartered in the archbishopric (apparently using its cathedral as see), but can be retained longer than the Metropolitan office.

Episcopal 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 ...

) ;''Military Vicars of the Dominican Republic'' * Ricardo Pittini Piussi,

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

(S.D.B.) (Italian) (1958 – death 10 December 1961), while Metropolitan Archbishop of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

(Dominican Republic) (1935.10.11 – 1961.12.10), President of Dominican Episcopal Conference (1958 – 1961.12.10) *

Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas (16 November 1906 – 1 December 1990) was a Dominican cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santo Domingo from 1961 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976. Biography Octav ...

(8 December 1962 – retired 1982) while Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo (1961.12.10 – 1981.11.15), created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

S. Sisto The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio (in Via Appia) is one of the over sixty minor basilicas among the churches of Rome, and a titular church since 600 AD. As such, it is connected to the title of a Cardinal priest, currently Antoine Kambanda. Bas ...

(1976.05.24 – 1990.12.01); previously

Titular Archbishop 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 ...

Euchaitæ Euchaita () was a Byzantine city and diocese in Helenopontus, the Armeniac Theme (northern Asia Minor), and an important stop on the Ancyra-Amasya, Amasea Roman road. In Ottoman times, Euchaita was mostly depopulated, but there was a remnant villag ...

(1945.05.02 – 1961.12.10) as

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 Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) (1945.05.02 – 1961.12.10),

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 ...

of Santiago de los Caballeros (Dominican Republic) (1953 – 1956.07.22), Apostolic Administrator sede plena of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) (1960 – 1961.12.10), President of Dominican Episcopal Conference (1961–1979), Apostolic Administrator of the Military Vicariate of Dominican Republic (1961.12.10 – 1962.12.08) *

Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez (; born 31 October 1936) is the archbishop emeritus of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Early years He was ordained on 18 March 1961 by Francisco Panal Ramí ...

(4 April 1982 – 21 July 1986 ''see below''), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo (1981.11.15 – 2016.07.04); previously Bishop of

San Francisco de Macorís San Francisco de Macorís is a city in the Dominican Republic located in the northeast portion of the island, in the Cibao region. It is the capital of the Duarte Province, and the sixth most populated city in the country. The name ''San Franci ...

(Dominican Republic) (1978.01.16 – 1981.11.15) ;''Military Ordinaries of the Dominican Republic'' *

(''see above'' 21 July 1986 – retired 1 January 2017), President of Dominican Episcopal Conference (1984–2002), First Vice-President of Latin American Episcopal Council (1987–1991), President of Latin American Episcopal Council (1991–1995), created

of S. Pio X alla Balduina (1991.06.28 – ...), President of Dominican Episcopal Conference (2009 – 2014.07.04) *

Francisco Ozoria Acosta Francisco Ozoria Acosta (born 10 October 1951) is a Dominican prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Santo Domingo since 2016 and Military Ordinary of the Dominican Republic since 2017. He was Bishop of San Pedro de Macorí ...

(2 January 2017 – ...), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo (2016.07.04 – ...); previously Bishop of

(Dominican Republic) (1997.02.01 – 2016.07.04).

References

Sources and external links

Historia del Ordinatario Castrense
(Episcopal Conference of the Dominican Republic)

(Catholic-Hierarchy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dominican Republic, Military Ordinariate Roman Catholic dioceses in the Dominican Republic Military ordinariates

Christian organizations established in 1958 1958 establishments in the Dominican Republic