The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Aracaju ( la, Archidioecesis Aracaiuensis) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese in the State of

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...

, northeastern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Its

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 ...

archiepiscopal see is Our Lady of the Conception Cathedral (''Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora da Conceiçao''), dedicated to

Our Lady of Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, in the city of

Aracaju Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inhabitants, which rep ...

. Two

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 h ...

s are owned by the Archdiocese in São Cristóvão, Sergipe: the Misericórdia Hospital and Church (''Igreja de Santa Casa de Misericórdia'') and the

Church and Convent of Santa Cruz The Church and Convent of Santa Cruz ( pt, Igreja e Convento de Santa Cruz), also known as the Church and Convent of São Francisco ( pt, Igreja e Convento de São Francisco) is a 17th-century Catholic Church, Roman Catholic structure located in S ...

, also known as the Church and Convent of Saint Francis.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 1,086,000 Catholics (84.1% of 1,292,000 total) on 7,019 km² in 99 parishes with 159 priests (129 diocesan, 30 religious), 21 deacons, 321 lay religious (119 brothers, 202 sisters) and 34 seminarians.

History

It was established on January 3, 1910, as Diocese of Aracaju, on territory split off from the

Metropolitan Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

. On April 30, 1960, it was promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Aracaju, losing territory to establish its two suffragans: Diocese of Estância and Diocese of Propriá.

Ecclesiastical province

Its Suffragan dioceses are both daughter sees : *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Estância The Diocese of Estância ( la, Dioecesis Stantianus) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Estância. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of metropolitan Archdiocese o ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Propriá

Episcopal ordinaries

(all

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

Brazilians) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Aracaju'' *

José Tomas Gomes da Silva 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 vernacu ...

(1911.05.12 – death 1948.10.31) *

Fernando Gomes dos Santos Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

(1949.02.01 – 1957.03.07), previously Bishop of

Penedo Penedo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Alagoas in Brazil. The population is 63,846 (2020 est.) in an area of . Penedo lies south-west of the state capital of Maceió. History Founded in 1614, Penedo has many importan ...

(Brazil) (1943.01.09 – 1949.02.01); later Metropolitan Archbishop of

Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...

(Brazil) (1957.03.07 – death 1985.06.01) * José Vicente Távora (1957.11.20 – 1960.04.30 ''see below''), previously

Titular Bishop 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 ...

Prusias ad Hypium Prusias ad Hypium ( grc, Προῦσα πρὸς τῷ Ὑππίῳ ποταμῷ) was a city in ancient Bithynia, and afterwards in the late Roman province of Honorias. In the 4th century it became a bishopric that was a suffragan of Claudiopol ...

(1954.06.23 – 1957.11.20) as Auxiliary Bishop of (São Sebastião do) Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) (1954.06.23 – 1957.11.20) ;''Metropolitan Archbishops of Aracaju'' *

José Vicente Távora 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 ...

(''see above'' 1960.04.30 – death 1970.04.03) * Luciano José Cabral Duarte (1971.02.12 – retired 1998.08.26), also First Vice-President of Latin American Episcopal Council (1979 – 1983); succeeded as former Titular Bishop of

Gadiaufala Ksar Sbahi is a town and commune in Oum El Bouaghi Province, Algeria and the site of Ancient Gadiaufala, a Roman city and former bishopric, now a Latin Catholic titular see. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 11,095. History ...

(1966.07.14 – 1971.02.12) and Auxiliary Bishop of Aracaju (1966.07.14 – 1971.02.12) * José Palmeira Lessa (1998.08.26 – 2017.01.18); previously Titular Bishop of

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

(1982.06.21 – 1987.10.30) as Auxiliary Bishop of (São Sebastião do) Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) (1982.06.21 – 1987.10.30), Bishop of

Propriá Propriá is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Br ...

(Brazil) (1987.10.30 – 1996.12.06),

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: * Coad ...

of Aracaju (1996.12.06 – succession 1998.08.26) * João José da Costa, Carmelite Order (O. Carm.) (2017.01.18 – ...), previously Bishop of

Iguatu Iguatu is a city in Ceará, a Brazilian State, with a population of 103,074 (2020 est.). Edinaldo Lavor is the city's mayor. History A village of Quixelôs Indians existed at this site before the arrival of the Portuguese. In 1707 the Society of ...

(Brazil) (2009.01.07 – 2014.11.05), Coadjutor Archbishop of Aracaju (2014.11.05 – succession 2017.01.18).

Other affiliated bishops

Coadjutor archbishops

* José Palmeira Lessa (1996-1998) *

João José da Costa João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

O. Carm. , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

(2016-2017)

Auxiliary bishops

Nivaldo Monte Nivaldo may refer to: * Nivaldo (name) * Nivaldo (footballer, born 1974), born ''José Nivaldo Martins Constante'', Brazilian football goalkeeper * Nivaldo (footballer, born 1975), born ''Nivaldo Lourenço da Silva'', Brazilian football midfiel ...

(1963-1965), appointed Apostolic Administrator of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte * Luciano José Cabral Duarte (1966-1971), appointed Archbishop here * Edvaldo Gonçalves Amaral, S.D.B. (1975-1980), appointed Bishop of Parnaíba, Piaui * Hildebrando Mendes Costa (1981-1986), appointed Bishop of Estância, Sergipe * João Maria Messi, O.S.M. (1988-1995), appointed Bishop of Irecê, Bahia * Dulcênio Fontes de Matos (2001-2006), appointed Bishop of Palmeira dos Índios, Alagoas *

Henrique Soares da Costa Henrique Soares da Costa (11 April 1963 – 18 July 2020) was a Brazilian Roman Catholic bishop. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Palmares from 2014 until his death in 2020. Biography In 1981, Costa entered the Maceió Seminary and, in 19 ...

(2009-2014), appointed Bishop of Palmares, Pernambuco

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Manuel Raimundo de Melo, appointed Bishop of Caetité, Bahia in 1914 *

Avelar Brandão Vilela Avelar Brandão Vilela (June 13, 1912 – December 19, 1986) was a Brazilian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia from 1971 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1973. Biograph ...

. appointed Bishop of Petrolina, Pernambuco in 1946; future Cardinal * Luciano José Cabral Duarte. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Aracaju, Sergipe in 1966. *

Marco Eugênio Galrão Leite de Almeida Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...

, appointed Bishop of Estância, Sergipe in 2003 * Carlos Alberto dos Santos, appointed Bishop of Teixeira de Freitas-Caravelas, Bahia in 2005 * Valdemir Vicente Andrade Santos, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Fortaleza, Ceara in 2018

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org with Google mapa & - satellite photo; data for all sections

Diocese website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aracaju, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Brazil Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces in Brazil Christian organizations established in 1910 Sergipe Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1910 establishments in Brazil Aracaju