The Roman Catholic Diocese of Comayagua is a Latin

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 ...

bishopric 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 sev ...

of the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa. The present diocese, erected 13 March 1963, revives a larger colonial bishopric. Its present

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 denominations ...

episcopal see is the Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción, devoted to the

Immaculate Concepcion 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 ...

, in

Comayagua Comayagua () is a city, municipality and old capital of Honduras, located northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula and above sea level. The accelerated growth experienced by the city of Comayagua led the municipal authorit ...

, which city also has the former cathedral: Iglesia de La Merced Iglesia de La Merced, devoted to

Our Lady of Mercy Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...

History

In 1561, the first bishopric was established as Diocese of Comayagua, on territory split off from the then Roman Catholic Diocese of Trujillo (founded as diocese of Honduras), and in 1571 gained its mother bishopric's remaining territory at its suppression (Trujillo would however be restored in 1987). Like many missionary dioceses, it had mainly regular priests as Ordinaries, who generally died in office or were transferred/promoted within the vast Spanish colonial empire. On 1916.02.02 it was suppressed, its territory being divided to establish the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa (its Metropolitan still, in the national capital), the then Apostolic Vicariate of San Pedro Sula and the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán. It was restored on 1963.03.13, as Diocese of Comayagua, on much smaller territory (7,527 km²) split off from its Metropolitan, the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa.

Statistics

As per 2014, it has a population of 635,586 Catholics (93.3% of 681,546 total), pastorally served in 32 parishes by 56 priests (46 diocesan, 10 religious), 102 lay religious (33 brothers, 69 sisters) and 30 seminarians.

Ordinaries

Bishops of Comayagua (1531–1916)

Alfonso de Talavera Alfonso de Talavera, 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 monk ...

, OSH (1531–1540) #

Cristóbal de Pedraza Cristóbal de Pedraza (1485 – c.1555) was a Spanish clergyman who became Bishop of Comayagua in Honduras in 1541.

(1539–1553)"Bishop Cristóbal de Pedraza"
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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 March 25, 2016 #

Jerónimo de Corella Jerónimo de Corella O.S.H. (born in Spain) was a Spanish clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa (1916 established, successor to the Diocese of Comayagua, erected 1 ...

, OSH (1556–1575) #

Alfonso de la Cerda Alfonso de la Cerda, (Valladolid 1270 - Ávila 1333), called "the Disinherited", was the elder son of Ferdinand de la Cerda and his wife Blanche of France, and was a grandson of Alfonso X of Castile. Alfonso and his brother Fernando were ca ...

, OP (1578–1587), appointed Bishop of La Plata o Charcas #

Gaspar de Andrada Gaspar de Andrada (born in Toledo) was a Spanish clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa (1916 established, successor to the Diocese of Comayagua, erected 1561) is the ...

, OFM (1587–1612) #

Alfonso del Galdo Alfonso del Galdo (born 1550 in Medina del Campo) was a Spanish clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa (1916 established, successor to the Diocese of Comayagua, erec ...

, OP (1612–1628) #

Luis de Cañizares Luis de Cañizares, O.M. (1580 – 4 July 1645) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Comayagua (1629–1645) and Bishop of Nueva Caceres (1624–1628). ''(in Latin)'' ''(in Latin)'' Biography Luis de Cañizares was born i ...

, OFM (1628–1645) #

Juan Merlo de la Fuente Juan Merlo de la Fuente (died in 1665) was a Mexican clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Comayagua The Roman Catholic Diocese of Comayagua is a Latin suffragan bishopric in the ecclesiastical province of the Roman Catholic A ...

(1650–1656) # Martín de Espinosa y Monzón (1672–1676) #

Ildefonso Vargas y Abarca Ildefonso Vargas y Abarca, O.E.S.A. or Alonso Vargas y Abarca (1633 – 9 May 1697) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Comayagua (1677–1697). ''(in Latin)'' Biography Ildefonso Vargas y Abarca was born in Toledo, Spain ...

OSA Osa or OSA may refer to: Places * Osa Peninsula, a peninsula in Costa Rica * Osa (canton), a canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica * Osa Conservation Area, an administrative area in Costa Rica * Osa, India, a village in Allahabad, ...

(1678–1699) # Pedro Reyes de los Ríos de Lamadrid, OSB (1699–1700), appointed Bishop of Yucatán (Mérida) # Juan Pérez Carpintero,

OPraem The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

(1701–1724) # Antonio López Portillo de Guadalupe, OFM (1725–1742) # Francisco de Molina, OSBas (1743–1749) # Diego Rodríguez de Rivas y Velasco (1751–1762), appointed Bishop of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico # Isidro Rodríguez Lorenzo, OSBas (1764–1767), appointed Archbishop of Santo Domingo # Antonio Macarulla Minguilla de Aguilain (1767–1772), appointed Bishop of Durango # Francisco José de Palencia (1773–1775) # Francisco Antonio Iglesia Cajiga, OSH (1777–1783), appointed Bishop of Michoacán # José Antonio de Isabela (1785–1785) # Fernando Cardiñanos, OFM (1788–1794) # Vicente Navas, OP (1795–1809) # Manuel Julián Rodríguez del Barranco (1817–1819) # Francisco de Paula Campo y Pérez (1844–1853) # Hipólito Casiano Flórez (1854–1857) # Juan Félix de Jesús Zepeda (1861–1885) # Manuel Francisco Vélez (1887–1901) # José María Martínez y Cabañas (1902 – 2 February 1916), appointed Archbishop of Tegucigalpa

Bishops of Comayagua (1963–present)

# Bernardino N. Mazzarella, OFM (13 March 1963 – 30 May 1979) # Geraldo Scarpone Caporale, OFM (30 May 1979 – 21 May 2004) # Robert Camilleri Azzopardi, OFM (21 May 2004 – present)

Coadjutor bishop

* Geraldo Daniel Joseph Scarpone Caporale, O.F.M. (1979)

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with Google map & satellite photo - data for all sections
* ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Comayagua, Roman Catholic Diocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Honduras Former Roman Catholic dioceses in America

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century

Religious organizations established in 1963 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, ...

Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Tegucigalpa