The Roman Catholic Diocese of Copiapó ( la, Copiapoën(sis)) is a

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 ...

located in the city of

Copiapó Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó lies about 800 km north ...

in the

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 ...

of La Serena in Chile.

History

* 9 November 1946: Established as Apostolic Administration of Copiapó * 21 April 1955: Promoted as Territorial Prelature of Copiapó * 31 October 1957: Promoted as Diocese of Copiapó

Leadership, in reverse chronological order

* Bishop Ricardo Basilio Morales Galindo, O. de M. (2020.06.20 – present) * Bishop

Celestino Aós Braco Celestino Aós Braco O.F.M.Cap. (born 6 April 1945) is a Spanish-born prelate of the Catholic Church and the Archbishop of Santiago, in Chile. He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Santiago by Pope Francis on 23 March 2019, then Archbis ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (2014.10.18 – 2019.03.23), appointed Apostolic Administrator of Santiago de Chile * Bishop Gaspar Quintana Jorquera, C.M.F. (2001.05.26 – 2014.07.25) * Bishop Fernando Ariztía Ruiz (1976.12.11 – 2001.05.26) * Bishop

Carlos Marcio Camus Larenas Bishop Carlos Marcio Camus Larenas (14 January 1927 – 16 March 2014) emeritus (retired) bishop of the Linares, Chile and human rights advocate. He was a proponent of excommunication for those guilty of torture. Born in Valparaíso, on 14 Janu ...

(1968.01.31 – 1976.12.11), appointed Bishop of Linares * Bishop Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín (1958.06.15 – 1967.06.28), appointed Archbishop of La Serena; future

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

* Bishop

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 ...

(1955.06.27 – 1957.08.20), appointed Bishop of Antofagasta; future Archbishop * Archbishop

Alfredo Cifuentes Gómez Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...

(Apostolic Administrator 1947.03.19 – 1948.06.17)

Sources

GCatholic.org

Diocesan website
Roman Catholic dioceses in Chile Christian organizations established in 1946 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Copiapo, Roman Catholic Diocese of 1946 establishments in Chile {{Chile-RC-diocese-stub