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, 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.
Bishops
Bishops of Rancagua
Coadjutor bishop
*
Alejandro Goić Karmelić (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
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
(1991–2001), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Serena
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
*
Francisco de Borja Valenzuela Ríos, appointed Apostolic Administrator of Copiapó in 1955; appointed Prelate of Copiapó in 1956
*
Orozimbo Fuenzalida y Fuenzalida, appointed Prelate of Calama in 1968
*
Miguel Caviedes Medina, appointed Bishop of Osorno in 1982
External links
Website of the diocese
Rancagua
Christian organizations established in 1925
Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
Rancagua, Roman Catholic Diocese of
1925 establishments in Chile
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