The Diocese of Linares (also known as the Diocese of San Ambrosio de Linares; la, Dioecesis Linarensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese 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 associa ...

of the

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 ...

in Linares,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. It was established by Pope Pius XI on October 18, 1925 in his papal bull ''Notabiliter Aucto''. The Diocese of Linares is a suffragan in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of the metropolitan

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 is located in the geographical center of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

. The diocesan territory comprises two Chilean full

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s, Linares Province and

Cauquenes Province Cauquenes Province ( es, Provincia de Cauquenes) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). The provincial capital is the city of Cauquenes. Geography and demography The provincial capital, Cauquenes, lies approxim ...

, and part of a third,

Talca Province Talca Province ( es, Provincia de Talca) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca. Administration As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed b ...

, all of them in the Maule Region of Chile. Compared to other Chilean dioceses, Linares has a higher proportion of

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

inhabitants. Numerous

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s have been raised particularly in rural areas. The total number of chapels in the diocese exceeds 450.

Brief history of the diocese

In 1963, the territory of the Diocese of Linares expanded to include the

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 o ...

es of the then Province of Maule (currently known as the Province of Cauquenes) that belonged to the Diocese of Chillán, and a parish ( Putú), carved out from

. Prior to 1925, the territory now comprised by the Diocese was part of the ancient Diocese of La Santísima Concepción –- now the Archdiocese of Concepción. The see of the Diocese and residence of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

is the city of Linares. The beautiful

Cathedral Church 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 denominatio ...

is dedicated to Saint Ambrose of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Beginnings of Catholicism in the region

Catholic 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 ...

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

began in the middle of the 16th century, shortly after the arrival of the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both in ...

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, wh ...

granted Juan Jofré de Loaiza the encomienda of Peteroa, north of the Maule river on November 1, 1552, and shortly after, on 1554, ''Doctrina de Peteroa''The site where the evangelical proclamation took place was called a ''doctrina'' and the person in charge of a ''doctrina'' was a ''doctrinero''. In general, the terms

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and doctrinero had the same meaning was created under the care of

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

Juan de Océs, son of Don Rodrigo de Océs, with orders to cross to "other towns" of remaining Indians to the north and south of the Maule river. As a result of the successful campaigns in southern Chile, the Diocese of Imperial was created on March 22, 1563. Following the

Arauco War The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...

Bishop Don Reginaldo de Lizárraga went to the King Felipe III to obtain from the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

the annexation of his

Bishopric 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 associate ...

to the one of Santiago, to which the Supreme Pontiff acceded provisionally. This situation persisted from 1609 until 1623. On February 18, 1585, the third Bishop of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

in his detailed report to King Felipe II mentions the missions of "Longomilla and Purapel", " Chanco and Loanco" taken care of by the '' presbítero'' Francisco de Maestanza, with a salary of three hundred and eighty

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...

s in

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and food.

The ''Doctrinas'' of Cauquenes and Putagán

When the

s of

and ''La Imperial'' were erected (in 1561 and 1564, respectively), the Maule river was considered the dividing line between the two dioceses. However, it seems that the division was not sufficiently clear because the Bishop of Santiago, Fray

Diego de Medellín Diego de Medellín, O.F.M. (1496 – November 1592) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Santiago de Chile (1574–1592).

(1576–1592), created two ''docrinas'' south of the Maule river that remained under the

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 States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

of the Santiago bishops for more than one hundred and seventy years. The ''doctrinas'' at issue were ''

Cauquenes Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region. History According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community o ...

'' and '' Putagán''. ''Cauquenes'' was erected in an area inhabited by the "cauquenes" Indians, who gave name to the region and the ''doctrina'' that was based there. In 1739 the '' Doctrinero'' Don José de Rozas and Amaza, who resided in Chanco, built a

in the seat of

, the same place where Don

José Antonio Manso de Velasco José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

later founded the Villa de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes de José de Manso de Tutuvén (Town of Our Lady of the Mercedes de José de Manso of Tutuvén, now ''

'') on May 9, 1742.

The Cathedral of ''San Ambrosio de Linares''

The Cathedral Church of San Ambrosio, of Linares Diocese, is considered to be one of the most important and finest religious buildings erected in Chile in the twentieth century. It replaced the original cathedral, after the latter was destroyed by an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

, in 1928. The new cathedral was conceived by bishop Juan Subercaseaux Errázuriz and its works were conducted by the renowned Chilean architects Carlos Bresciani and Jorge del Campo, the same duo that would be responsible, several years later, for the construction of another remarkable religious building, that of the parish church of Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart) in Providencia,

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. Mgr. Subercaseaux gave a great initial impulse to the construction of the Linares Cathedral, which has been characterized as "the plastic expression of his refined artistic culture". Mgr. Subercaseaux, a dynamic and enterprising man, was not deterred by the shortage of resources available for the great work that had to be done. In his travels abroad, he was untiring to ask for greater resources for his diocese, which badly required some material aid that would help to finance the cathedral works and additional priests. In several countries (

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Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the

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France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) Mgr. Subercaseaux appealed to the local Catholics in their own languages, urging them to contribute to the progress of his far-away diocese. The cathedral was built according to the model of the famous Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio of Milan, built in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

and begun in the 4th century. The cathedral

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

is remarkable for the outstanding

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

work made by the Italian-born artist Giulio Di Girolamo. This mosaic work is one of the most important of its sort in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. On the 18 October 2006 the remains of Giulio Di Girolamo's wife, Elvira, brought from Italy, were buried in the Cathedral together with those of her husband, who had died in 1998 and had been buried in the Cathedral years before.

Diocesan statistics

The Diocese of Linares has an area of 15,111 km² and a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

close to 350,000. More than 70% of its

inhabitant Domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law," which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time to time, a person has only one ...

s consider themselves

(2002

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

Deaneries, parishes and priests of the diocese

There are 33

es grouped into six

Deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

, including:

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

Linares, Parral,

, Constitución, San Javier,

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

Linares.

Parishes of the diocese

Urban Linares and rural Linares deaneries

* El Sagrario (

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 denominatio ...

), Linares * Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Linares * Inmaculado Corazón de María, Linares * María Auxiliadora, Linares * Jesús Obrero, Linares * Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Linares * María Peregrina, Linares * San Antonio de Padua, Linares * Santos Chilenos, Linares * Nuestra Señora de la Buena Esperanza,

Panimávida Panimávida (in Mapudungun: "hill of pumas") is a town in the Chilean commune of Colbún, Linares Province, Maule Region. Panimávida is well known in Chile for being one of the oldest hot springs and resort spa A destination spa or heal ...

* San Miguel Arcángel,

Colbún Colbún ( Mapudungun: "Cleaning of the land") is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. The commune has a population of over 17,000 inhabitants and covers an area of , making it the province's largest. Its capital, the ...

* De la Santa Cruz,

Yerbas Buenas Yerbas Buenas is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. It lies in the geographical center of the country, on the fertile central plain, some south of the national capital of Santiago, south of Talca, the regional ...

San Javier Deanery

* San Francisco Javier, San Javier * Santísima Virgen de la Merced, San Javier * Santa Rosa, Melozal * Del Niño Jesús, Villa Alegre * San Francisco, Huerta de Maule * San Juan, Orilla de Maule

Parral Deanery

* San José de Parral, Parral * San Francisco de Parral, Parral * San Sebastián de Los Cuarteles, Parral * San Lorenzo,

Longaví Longaví (in Mapudungun: ''snake's head'') is a Chilean city and commune located in Linares Province, one of the four provinces that make up the Maule Region, in the geographical center of Chile. Geography The commune has a surface of and is ...

* San Ramón, Retiro

Constitución Deanery

* San José, Constitución * Nuestra Señora del Tránsito, Putú * Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Nirivilo * San Ignacio, Empedrado

Cauquenes Deanery

* San Pedro,

* San Alfonso, Cauquenes *

Convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

o San Francisco, Cauquenes * Santo Toribio,

Curanipe Curanipe (in mapudungun: "plum tree that grows in the rock") is a town and seat of the municipality of Pelluhue, Province of Cauquenes, in VII Maule Region of Chile. A popular and charming coastal resort, Curanipe used to be a well-known an ...

* San Luis Gonzaga, Sauzal * San Ambrosio, Chanco

Priests of the diocese

Francisco Lavín, Juvenal Pereira, René González, Erasmo Salazar, Plácido Grove, Hernán González, Rolf Schnitzler, Gabriel Lacaux, Jaime Vallet, Ramón Iturra, Luis Alarcón, Germán Cáceres, Silvio Jara, Lorenzo Solari, José Ulloa, Luis Retamal, Benjamín Retamales, Francisco Hormazábal, José Prado, Gonzálo Aravena, Luis Fuentealba, Raúl Moris, Alejandro Quiroz, Waldo Alfaro, Mario Agurto.

Ordinaries

Bishops of Linares

* Miguel León Prado (1925–1934) * Juan Subercaseaux Errázuriz (1935–1940), appointed Archbishop of La Serena * Francisco Javier Valdivia Pinedo (1940–1941) * Roberto Moreira Martínez (1941–1958) * Augusto Osvaldo Salinas Fuenzalida (1958–1976) * Carlos Marcio Camus Larenas (1976–2003) * Tomislav Koljatic Maroevic (2003–present)

Notes

External links

Website of the diocese (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linares Roman Catholic dioceses in Chile Christian organizations established in 1925 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Linares, Roman Catholic Diocese of