The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barquisimeto ( la, Archidioecesis Barquisimetensis) is a Latin Catholic Metropolitan archdiocese in northwestern

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 ...

's Lara state.

History

* Established on 7 March 1863 as Diocese of Barquisimeto, on territory split off from the then Diocese of Mérida (now Metropolitan) * Suppressed on 14 August 1867, its territory reassigned to the new, short-lived Diocese of Coro y Barquisimeto (in fact a see transfer to Coro) * Restored on 22 October 1869 as Diocese of Barquisimeto from that (suppressed) Diocese of Coro y Barquisimeto * Lost territory on 12 October 1922 to establish the Diocese of Coro and on 7 June 1954 to establish the Diocese of Guanare, its own suffragan * Promoted on 30 April 1966 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Barquisimeto. * Lost territory again to establish two more suffragans : on 7 October 1966 the Diocese of San Felipe and on 25 July 1922 the Diocese of Carora.

Special churches

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 ...

episcopal see is the very modern Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in

Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; guc, Watkisimeeta) is a city in Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial and transportation center of the country, recognized as the f ...

. There is also 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 ...

: Basílica el Santo Cristo de la Gracia, also in Barquisimeto.

Bishops

''(all Roman rite)

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Suffragan Bishops of Barquisimeto'' * Victor José Díez Navarrete (22 October 1869 – death 1893), previously Bishop of Coro y Barquisimeto (Venezuela) (1868.06.22 – 1869.10.22) *

Gregorio Rodríguez y Obregón Gregorio is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Gregorio Conrado Álvarez (1925–2016), Uruguayan army general and de facto President of Uruguay from 1981 until 1985 * Gregorio Álvarez (historian) (1889–1986), ...

(21 May 1894 – death 1900) * Aguedo Felipe Alvarado Liscano (15 August 1910 – death 26 September 1926) * Enrique María Dubuc Moreno (26 September 1926 – 17 November 1947), 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 ...

Zaraï Zaraï was a Berber, Carthaginian, and Roman town at the site of present-day Aïn Oulmene, Algeria. Under the Romans, it formed part of the province of Numidia. Name The Punic name for the town was (). Zarai is mentioned in the ''Antonine It ...

(25 May 1926 – 26 September 1926) & Coadjutor Bishop of Barquisimeto (25 May 1926 – 26 September 1926; emeritate as Titular Bishop of

Maximiana in Numidia Maximiana in Numidia was an Ancient city and bishopric in Roman Africa and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Its presumed location are the ruins of Mexmeia, in present Algeria. History Maximiana was important enough in the Roman province of ...

(17 November 1947– death 22 June 1962) * Críspulo Benítez Fontúrvel (21 October 1949 – 30 April 1966 ''see below'') ;''Metropolitan Archbishops of Barquisimeto'' * Críspulo Benítez Fontúrvel (''see above'' 30 April 1966 – 18 October 1982), also President of Episcopal Conference of Venezuela (1972 – 1978) *

Tulio Manuel Chirivella Varela Tulio Manuel Chirivella Varela (14 November 1932 – 10 April 2021) was a Venezuelan Roman Catholic archbishop. Biography Chirivella Valera was born in Venezuela and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholi ...

(18 October 1982 previously Bishop of Margarita (Venezuela) (5 April 1974 – 18 October 1982) *

Antonio José López Castillo Antonio José López Castillo (July 9, 1945 – July 18, 2021) was a Venezuelan Roman Catholic priest and prelate. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maracaibo from 1988 to 1992 and the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Di ...

(22 December 2007 – 25 March 2020); previously

Theuzi Theuzi is a former ancient city and bishopric in Roman Africa and present Latin Catholic titular see. Its modern location is unclear, but is believed to have been somewhere in present Tunisia. History Aquae Novae was important enough in the Rom ...

(26 February 1988 – 1 August 1992) & Auxiliary Bishop of Maracaibo (Venezuela) (26 February 1988 – 1 August 1992), Bishop of Barinas (Venezuela) (01 August 1992 – 27 December 2001), Metropolitan Archbishop of Calabozo (Venezuela) (27 December 2001– 22 December 2007)

Coadjutor bishop

* Enrique María Dubuc Moreno (1926)

Auxiliary bishops

* Marcial Augusto Ramírez Ponce (1967–1970),appointed Bishop of La Guaira *

Eduardo Herrera Riera Eduardo Herrera Riera (September 7, 1927 – October 27, 2012) was the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Carora of Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezu ...

(1970–1994), appointed Bishop of Carora * José Luis Azuaje Ayala (1999–2006), appointed Bishop of El Vigia-San Carlos del Zulia

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Manuel Felipe Díaz Sánchez Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cumaná in 1997

Province

Its

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 ...

comprises the Metropolitan's own archbishopric and the following Suffragan sees: * Roman Catholic Diocese of Acarigua–Araure *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Carora The Roman Catholic Diocese of Carora ( la, Caroren(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Carora in the Ecclesiastical province of Barquisimeto in Venezuela. It was established from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Barquisimeto on July 25, 1992 ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Guanare The Roman Catholic Diocese of Guanare ( la, Dioecesis Guanarensis) is a diocese located in the city of Guanare in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barquisimeto, Barquisimeto in Venezuela. History On 7 June 1954 Pope P ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Felipe, Venezuela The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Felipe ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Philippi in Venetiola) is a diocese located in the city of San Felipe in the Ecclesiastical province of Barquisimeto in Venezuela. History On 7 October 1966 Pope Paul VI establis ...

References

External links

GCatholic.org, with incumbent biography links

Roman Catholic dioceses in Venezuela Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Barquisimeto Religious organizations established in 1863 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century 1863 establishments in Venezuela {{SouthAm-RC-diocese-stub