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 Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. The see was erected 8 August 1511 as the Diocese of Santo Domingo and elevated to archdiocese on 12 February 1546."Archdiocese of Santo Domingo"
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Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 4, 2017"Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 In recognition of the fact that the see was the first established in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo can use the title of

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

of the Indies, according to the bull of

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

''Divinis praeceptis'' issued on 28 November 1816 and ratified by the

Concordat A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Edi ...

between the Holy See and the Dominican Republic signed on 16 June 1954. The archiepiscopal see is the Santa María la Menor cathedral, a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation, which was designated a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

by Pope

Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his deat ...

in his apostolic letter ''Inter Americae'' on 14 June 1920.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 3,457,347 Catholics (95.0% of 3,639,313 total) on 4,032 km² in 214 parishes with 478 priests (190 diocesan, 288 religious), 159 deacons, 2,845 lay religious (610 brothers, 2,235 sisters) and 284 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

The Metropolitan's

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 jurisdiction ...

sees are : *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Baní 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 lett ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Barahona The Roman Catholic Diocese of Barahona ( la, Dioecesis Barahonensis) (erected 24 April 1976) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolita ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey 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 lett ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Ioannis Maguanensis) (erected 25 September 1953 as the Territorial Prelature of San Juan de la Maguana, elevated 19 November 1969) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdioce ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Petri de Macoris) (erected 1 February 1997) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo. Ordinaries * Francisco Ozoria Acosta Francisco Ozoria Acost ...

History

* The Bull of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, dated 24 June 1493, designated the Franciscan Bernardo Buil (Boil) to accompany

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

on his second voyage of discovery, with faculties as Apostolic delegate or vicar. He did not make the journey, and his

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

near-namesake did. On 30 August 1495, a band of Franciscans and other missioners did arrive in

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

. * The see was erected on 8 August 1511 by

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or t ...

by the Bull ''Pontifex Romanus'', which also established the bishoprics of

Concepción de la Vega La Vega, is the fourth largest city and municipality of the Dominican Republic. It is in La Vega Province. The city is known as the Carnaval epicenter of the Dominican Republic for its tradition and culture, its large agricultural production metho ...

and the San Juan of Porto Rico, on Antillian Spanish-colonial territory split off from the

Archdiocese of Seville The Archdiocese of Seville is part of the Catholic Church in Seville, Spain. The Diocese of Seville was founded in the 3rd century. It was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 4th century. The current archbishop is José Ángel Saiz Me ...

. Three prelates, who had been appointed to the sees comprising the ecclesiastical province created in 1504 by the same pope, united their petition to that of the Crown in requesting the Holy See to suppress them and to establish the three new dioceses as suffragans to the See of Seville. This alteration was effected before any of the prelates in question had taken possession of his diocese or been consecrated a bishop. - Father Francisco Garcia de Padilla, a Franciscan, who in 1504 had been designed to occupy the See of

Diocese of Bayuna The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayuna was a short-lived (1504–1511) Antillian Catholic bishopric with see at Lares de Guahaba. History It was established on 1504.11.15 as Diocese of Bayuna, one of the first bishoprics in the New World, on Spani ...

(Baynoa, Baiunensis), was chosen the first bishop 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) , webs ...

. He died before his consecration, after having named Rev. Carlos de Aragón his

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and authorized him to take possession of the diocese. The first bishop to occupy the See of Santo Domingo was Alessandro Geraldini, who was appointed in 1516 and died in 1524. He was a native of Italy, and perhaps the only representative of the Americas to attend the

Fifth Lateran Council The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II to ...

. * Lost territories on 1513.08.28 to establish the Diocese of Santa María la Antigua del Darién and on 1517.02.11 to establish the Diocese of Baracoa * In 1527 it gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of Concepción de la Vega, which was united, after the death of its first bishop, Pedro Suárez de Deza, to the See of Santo Domingo. * Lost territories again : on 1531.06.21 to establish the

Diocese of Coro The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Coro ( la, Archidioecesis Corensis) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese in western Venezuela.Diocese of Santa Marta, on 1534.12.18 to establish the Diocese of Guatemala (soon its suffragan) and in 1539 to establish the

Diocese of Honduras The Episcopal Diocese of Honduras is an Anglican diocese in Honduras. It forms part of Province 9 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Province IX of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church. The third and current ...

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

on 12 February 1546 elevated Santo Domingo to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Domingo, and the incumbent of the see at the time, Bishop Alonso de Fuenmayor, became its first archbishop. As first the newly Metropolitan see of Santo Domingo had five Caribbean

sees: two Antillian - Diocese of Puerto Rico and Diocese of Santiago (de Cuba) on

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

- and three continental :

Diocese of Coro The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Coro ( la, Archidioecesis Corensis) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese in western Venezuela.Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, Diocese of Santa Marta in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

and the Diocese of Guatemala (its daughter). *The Archbishop of Santo Domingo was awarded the title of

of the Indies by the bull of

''Divinis praeceptis'' issued on 28 November 1816, and such title was later ratified by the

between the Holy See and the Dominican Republic signed on 16 June 1954. This title was given in recognition of the diocese being the first in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

, despite the fact that the Diocese of Gardar has centuries before been established in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

and since abandoned. * In 1848 it was demoted as non-metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici (Latin) * Lost (Haitian) territories (French side of

island) on 1861.10.03 to establish Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince The Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince (erected 3 October 1861) is a metropolitan archdiocese, responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Jacmel, Jérémie, Anse-à-Veau and Miragoâne and Les Cayes. The archdiocese was a vacant see following the ...

, Diocese of Cap-Haïtien, Diocese of Les Cayes,

Diocese of Les Gonaives 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 associat ...

and Diocese of Port-de-Paix * Promoted back on 1953.09.25 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo / Sancti Dominici (Latin), having lost more territories to establish

Diocese of Santiago de los Caballeros The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de los Caballeros ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Iacobi Equitum) is a Latin rite Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan Archdiocese in the Dominican Republic. History * Established on 25 September 1953 as the D ...

(now Metropolitan),

Diocese of La Vega The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Vega ( la, Dioecesis Vegensis) (erected 25 September 1953) is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de los Caballeros, Archdiocese of Santiago de los Caballeros. Bishops Ordinaries *Fr ...

and Territorial Prelature of San Juan de la Maguana (now Roman Catholic Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana) * Lost territories thrice later : on 1959.04.01 to establish Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey, on 1986.11.08 to establish Diocese of Baní and on 1997.02.01 to establish Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís. * It enjoyed

Papal visit Papal travel outside Rome has been historically rare, and voluntary travel of the pope was non-existent for the first 500 years. Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) undertook more pastoral trips than all his predecessors combined. Pope Francis (2013� ...

s from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

(January 1979, October 1984 and October 1992.10).

Bishops

Ordinaries

;''Diocese of Santo Domingo'' ''Erected: August 8, 1511'' *

Francisco Garcia de Padilla Francisco Garcia de Padilla, O.F.M. (Died 1515) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Santo Domingo (1511–1515) and as Bishop-elect of Bayuna (1504–1511), ''(in Latin)'' one of the first three Roman Catholic bishops in the N ...

, O.F.M. (1511–1515) Died ''(in Latin)'' * Alejandro Geraldini (1516–1524) Died * Luis de Figueroa,

O.S.H. The Hieronymites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome ( la, Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rul ...

(1523–1526), Died, never consecrated * Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal (1527–1538), Appointed,

Bishop of Tui The Diocese of Tui-Vigo is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northwestern Spain. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela.

;''Archdiocese of Santo Domingo'' ''Elevated February 12, 1546''

Coadjutor archbishops

* Elías Rodríguez Ortiz (1857); did not succeed to the see *

Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla (12 December 1862, Santo Domingo – 26 June 1937) was an archbishop, educator and interim president of the Dominican Republic. Early life and education Nouel was born to Carlos Rafael Nouel y Pierret, a Dom ...

(1904–1906) * Luis Antonio de Mena y Steinkoft (1922–1932); did not succeed to the see * Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas (1945–1961); future Cardinal * Hugo Eduardo Polanco Brito (1970–1975); did not succeed to the see; appointed Archbishop (Personal Title) of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey

Auxiliary bishops

Felipe Antonio Gallego Gorgojo Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy ...

, S.J. (1945–1951) * Príamo Pericles Tejeda Rosario (1975–1986), appointed Bishop of Baní * Juan Félix Pepén y Soliman (1975–1995) * Ramón Benito de La Rosa y Carpio (1988–1995), appointed Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey * Francisco José Arnáiz Zarandona, S.J. (1988–2002) *

Pablo Cedano Cedano Pablo Cedano Cedano (25 January 1936 – 19 November 2018) was a Dominican Republic Roman Catholic bishop. Biography Cedano Cedano was born in the Dominican Republic and was ordained to the priesthood in 1967. He served as titular bishop of ' ...

(1996–2013) * Amancio Escapa Aparici,

O.C.D. The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

(1996–2016) *

(1996–2018) *

Victor Emilio Masalles Pere The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(2010–2016), appointed Bishop of Baní * Víctor Emilio Masalles Pere (2010–present) * Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández (2017–present) * Jesús Castro Marte (2017–2020), appointed Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey *

Faustino Burgos Brisman Faustino may refer to: *Faustino (name), including a list of people with the name *Faustino (platform), a physical computing platform * Faustino, an ape in the Kasakela chimpanzee community *Bodegas Faustino The Bodegas Faustino vineyard is loca ...

, C.M. (2017–present) * José Amable Durán Tineo (2020–present)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with Google map - data for all sections
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santo Domingo, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Roman Catholic dioceses in the Dominican Republic * Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces in the Dominican Republic Roman Catholic primates Roman Catholic dioceses established in the 16th century

Religious organizations established in the 1510s Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, trans ...

1511 establishments in the Spanish Empire Year 1511 ( MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * March 26 - The 1511 Idrija earthquake occurs, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''E ...